RIP Opportunity

[GordonD]

NASA has declared the Opportunity mission concluded after the Mars Rover failed to respond to repeated signals to bring it out of hibernation. 

 

The rover landed on Mars on 25 January 2004 and was planned to operate for ninety days. It lasted fourteen years! Last contact was 10 June 2018, when a dust storm caused it to shut down. NASA hoped it would reboot once the weather cleared but it was not to be.

 

In its lifetime Opportunity covered a distance of more than 45km. For six weeks in 2005 the rover was lodged in a sand dune but by careful manoeuvring a few centimetres at a time NASA managed to free it and it continued its travels.

 

When the decision was taken to shut down operations, the final signal sent to the rover was the Billie Holiday song "I'll Be Seeing You".

 

I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you...