Mars Rover Begins "Whole New Mission"

sighted writes "NASA reports that the seemingly-unstoppable robotic geologist Opportunity is finding things at Endeavour crater that it has never seen before, adding new life to a mission that has already been epic. Observations 'suggest that rock exposures on Endeavour's rim date from early in Martian history and include clay minerals that form in less-acidic wet conditions, possibly more favorable for life.' In a teleconference today, one mission scientist compared this new phase of exploration to a 'whole new mission.'"

Comments

Re:Just gotta say

[Staale Nordlie]

I don't think the rovers lasting far beyond the "planned" 90 sols is entirely flattering for NASA as an organization. It means that they've used completely unrealistic estimates, be it due to incompetence or general ass-covering. When Opportunity finally breaks down it may well be because someone knowingly put in a component with a relatively short lifespan even though a better alternative would only have been marginally heavier or more expensive.