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Opportunity Breaks NASA's 40-Year Roving Record

astroengine writes "After nine years of hard Mars roving, Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity has broken a 40-year-old extraterrestrial distance record. On Thursday, the tenacious six-wheeled robot drove 80 meters (263 feet), nudging the total distance traveled since landing on the red planet in 2004 to 35.760 kilometers (22.220 miles). NASA's previous distance record was held by Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt when, in December 1972, they drove their Lunar Roving Vehicle 35.744 kilometers (22.210 miles) over the lunar surface. Although it's broken the NASA distance record, it hasn't surpassed the international record, yet. The Soviet Lunokhod 2 remote-controlled moon rover roved 37 kilometers (23 miles) across the lunar surface and, so far, remains the undisputed champion of distance driving on an extraterrestrial surface."

4 of 92 comments (clear)

  1. Re:confusing distances by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Informative

    No I think you're confusing the decimal for a comma.

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  2. Re:speedy... by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wolfram Alpha converts 45cm/h to 0.7516 furlongs per fortnight. You're welcome.

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    If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  3. Re:Soviet Strong by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 5, Funny

    Soviet Union

    1st Satleite to orbit Earth

    1st Animal in space

    1st Man in space

    1st Woman in space

    1st multiple personnel in space

    1st Object into inter planetary space

    1st lunar probe

    1st Venusian probe

    1st Martian probe

    1st Space walk

    1st space station

    NASA

    1st Cokacola in space

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    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  4. Re:Soviet Strong by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I know sorry USA also had 1st semi re-usable space craft, 1st docking in space and 1st Geo synchronos. However if you look at it pre 1966 it's pretty one sided with I think the only NASA 1st being having two manned space craft within 200 yards of each other whilst in orbit. It all changed when Sergi Pavlovich Korolyev died he had essentially blagged the Soviet space program from the start (They only let him launch Uri Gagarin because he told them they needed someone to man the radio).

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    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.