14 DAY TRIAL // The NASA Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity has just turned 10 on the surface of the Red Planet, mission controllers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, California, are happy to announce. The robot was originally supposed to explore Mars for just 3 months.
Opportunity landed on our neighboring world on January 24, 2004, just a few weeks following Spirit's arrival, on January 4. The rover launched from Earth on July 7, 2003, aboard a Delta II delivery system, from Space Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, in Florida.
Originally planned to spend just 92.5 days (90 sols, or Martian days) exploring its surroundings, the robot is still going strong on day 3,652 (sol 3554) of its mission. Originally planned to land in a plain called Meridiani Planum, the rover ended up inside Eagle Crater instead, which was a stroke of luck.
Mission controllers planned early on to have Opportunity head for the most interesting feature in the area, the massive Endeavour crater. No one was sure that the mission will make it for so long, but the exploration robot proved extremely resilient, and reached the crater on August 9, 2011.
On November 5, 2013, on sol 3478 of its stay on Mars, Opportunity's odometer was at 38.53 kilometers (23.94 miles). It holds the record for the longest single-day drive on Mars. The record was achieved on sol 410 (March 20, 2005), when the robot traveled a distance of 220 meters (720 feet) in a single drive.
Throughout its stay on Mars, the rover contributed significantly to our understanding of the Red Planet's distant geological and hydrological past. The data it sent back to Earth helped develop an image of an ancient Mars where liquid water flowed freely on the surface, and primitive lifeforms such as bacteria were entirely possible.
Opportunity's investigative mission was made easier starting in 2006, with the arrival of the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in orbit. The orbiter, which has since sent more than 200 terabits of data back to Earth, uses its instruments to guide the rover's search, and relays its findings to Earth via its powerful antennas. This helps the surface robot conserve energy.
“Over the past decade, Mars rovers have made the Red Planet our workplace, our neighborhood. The longevity and the distances driven are remarkable. But even more important are the discoveries that are made and the generation that has been inspired,” commented the MER project manager at JPL, John Callas.