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Opportunity Begins 10th Year on Mars

Posted by samzenpus on from the sticking-around dept.

An anonymous reader points out that 9 years ago the Opportunity rover started to explore the red planet. "The older, smaller cousin of NASA's huge Mars rover Curiosity is quietly celebrating a big milestone Thursday — nine years on the surface of the Red Planet. NASA's Opportunity rover landed on Mars the night of Jan. 24, 2004 PST (just after midnight EST on Jan. 25), three weeks after its twin, Spirit, touched down. Spirit stopped operating in 2010, but Opportunity is still going strong, helping scientists better understand the Red Planet's wetter, warmer past."

4 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Huzzah! by docmordin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here's to Opportunity and, hopefully, another ten years!

    1. Re:Huzzah! by eksith · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Hear, hear!

      Carry on, Opportunity, your sister will always be with you in Spirit.

      --
      If computers were people, I'd be a misanthrope.
  2. Re:Last message from the Opportunity rover by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So you've got time to come to Slashdot and write a hundred words of Mars Rover internal monologue, but you're too awesome to read a webcomic?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  3. Really hostile environment by Max_W · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It is easier to send a robot to Mars than to, say, a local supermarket. It would probably not last in a supermarket for a week.

    The really hostile environment for robots is the human social environment.

    It is clear how to protect against radiation or low temperatures, but how to protect against coffee into circuits or lipstick on lenses? Or just plain simple kicks from behind.

    These are complicated and important problems because robots could be very useful on Earth too right now.