Today marks the tenth anniversary of the deployment of the Mars Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Spirit has not been heard from for several years, but Opportunity keeps on chugin’ along. This is quite an achievement for JPL, NASA and the subcontractors that put these remarkable spacecraft together. Several years ago, Damsel and I visited JPL and took the tour that included the ground facilities for the rover program. It was quite impressive.
Here is an excerpt from Dr. Tony Phillips’ article about Opportunity:
Opportunity’s Improbable Anniversary
July 1, 2013: When NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity blasted off from Cape Canaveral in 2003, many onlookers expected a relatively short mission. Landing on Mars is risky business. The Red Planet has a long history of destroying spacecraft that attempt to visit it. Even if Opportunity did land safely, it was only designed for a 3-month mission on the hostile Martian surface.
Few, if any, imagined that Opportunity would still be roving the red sands of Mars–and still making discoveries–ten years later.
On July 7, 2013, Opportunity celebrates the 10th anniversary of its launch and more than 9 years on Mars.