02-13-2019, 10:08 PM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-47231247
The US space agency (Nasa) has called time on its Opportunity Mars rover.
The six-wheeled robot last contacted Earth in June last year, just before it was enveloped in the darkness of a global dust storm.
Engineers hoped Oppy would power back up when the skies cleared and sunlight hit its solar panels again - but there has not been a peep out of the rover.
The routine prompt commands that have been sent to Opportunity will now end. The mission has been declared over.
"We tried valiantly over these last eight months to recover the rover, to get some signal from it," explained project manager John Callas.
Wow, I'm kind of sad to see this . Still, for a mission that was originally supposed to last for only 90 days, it's had one heck of a run. The team behind Opportunity should have no regrets: they can come away with their heads held high, and look back proudly at the science they've done over the past 15 years .
R.I.P. Opportunity
25/01/2004 - 13/02/2019
The US space agency (Nasa) has called time on its Opportunity Mars rover.
The six-wheeled robot last contacted Earth in June last year, just before it was enveloped in the darkness of a global dust storm.
Engineers hoped Oppy would power back up when the skies cleared and sunlight hit its solar panels again - but there has not been a peep out of the rover.
The routine prompt commands that have been sent to Opportunity will now end. The mission has been declared over.
"We tried valiantly over these last eight months to recover the rover, to get some signal from it," explained project manager John Callas.
Wow, I'm kind of sad to see this . Still, for a mission that was originally supposed to last for only 90 days, it's had one heck of a run. The team behind Opportunity should have no regrets: they can come away with their heads held high, and look back proudly at the science they've done over the past 15 years .
R.I.P. Opportunity
25/01/2004 - 13/02/2019
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