Martian Dust Storm Sends NASA's Opportunity Rover into Hibernation Mode
A massive dust storm on Mars has forced NASA to temporarily suspend operations of its Opportunity rover.
NASA's Opportunity Rover Got Stuck on a Hill on Mars
NASA’s Opportunity rover just attempted to take on the steepest hill a Martian rover has ever climbed—and promptly got stuck there. Oh dear.
NASA Just Called Off the Launch for Its Brand New Mars Lander
Mars InSight lander was set to blast its way towards the red planet just three short months from now. Today, NASA announced that leaks that had sprung up in the lander wouldn’t be fixed in time. The next window to send it back won’t be for two years—and whether it will make it then isn’t yet certain.
This is the Soundtrack of a Martian Marathon
The first Martian marathon was no easy trek: the Opportunity rover had to struggle through smooth, soft sand and clamber over sharp rocks. This is the sounds of the terrain it covered in its 11-year journey exploring the red planet.
Opportunity Rover Has A Film Noir Moment In This Shadowy Shot From Mars
This shot shows the Opportunity rover in shadow on Mars, facing Endurance Crater. It was taken in 2004, the year Opportunity began exploring; since then, it's completed the equivalent of a marathon across Martian terrain, discovering evidence of ancient water, and snapping memorable images galore.
All Hail Opportunity Rover, Future Martian Terror
Back in 2010, XKCD's Randall Munroe devoted a surprisingly moving webcomic to Spirit, NASA's ill-fated and ultimately abandoned Mars rover. Today's comic is about Spirit's twin, the apparently indomitable Opportunity, and its tone is markedly less sentimental.
It Only Took NASA 11 Years To Run A Marathon On Mars
The Mars Exploration Rover, better known as Opportunity, has been beaming back images and data from our planetary neighbour since 2004. As as of today, it has travelled 26.219, making it the first little interplanetary explorer to complete a marathon.
A Sunset On the Surface of Mars
Using photos taken from Mars by the Opportunity Rover, NASA has recreated the sunset the rover sees from the red planet. Hit play and be mesmerized.
NASA's Opportunity Has Now Explored the Martian Surface for 11 Years
Eleven years ago today—in fact, at this very minute (12:05 am ET)—NASA's Opportunity rover touched down on Mars for what was supposed to be a 90-day mission. Since then, Opportunity has proven to be an engineering marvel by traveling almost 26 miles on the Martian surface, more than any other off-Earth surface vehicle.
Amnesiac Mars Rover Is Getting Brain Surgery From Millions of Miles Away
NASA has had some truly bad luck lately, underscored by the cancellation of an ambitious balloon mission due to a leak last week. Even Opportunity, the decade-old Mars rover that has surprised everyone by exploring for more than a decade after its mission ended, is showing signs of slowing down. Now, NASA has a plan…
NASA Wants Mars Curiosity Rover to "Drive Less And Do More Science"
NASA plans to extend seven of its ongoing planetary missions, a review panel announced yesterday. Two of the missions, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Mars rover Opportunity, were at risk of being shut down, but it was Mars rover Curiosity that drew the least-favorable reviews, and the harshest criticisms.
The Opportunity rover has been diagnosed with a case of "amnesia", after more than a dozen lapses in its flash memory storage. To attempt to solve the problem, NASA's engineers say they will clear out the robot's memory and reformat, trying to avoid any worn out storage areas.
NASA's Next Space Rover Could Be This Six-Limbed Robot Within A Robot
Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity have rolled their way into a special place in our hearts, as the first of our rovers to kick-off our exploration of other planets. But this six-limbed, flying rover with the ability to break apart into two separate robots definitely has us intrigued.
The Path Of The Sun In The Martian Sky Is Shaped Like A Teardrop
For an entire Martian year (or in Earth-time, July 16, 2006 - June 8, 2008), Opportunity snapped a picture of the sun's position in the sky every third day at 11:02 a.m. The result? This tracing of the teardrop-shaped path the sun follows in Mars' sky.
Daaaaamn: NASA's Opportunity Rover Photographed from Mars Orbit
Check out this outstanding photo of NASA's intrepid Opportunity rover. The Agency's HiRISE camera caught a rare glimpse of the spacecraft on Valentine's day while orbiting high above the "Murray Ridge" section of the western rim of Mars' Endeavour Crater. Can you spot it?
Scientists now know why this mysterious rock suddenly appeared on Mars
When a rock suddenly appeared in front of the Opportunity rover on Mars last month, scientists were puzzled. Now, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab say they've solved the mystery.
What a Rover Looks Like After a Decade on Mars
Curiosity is the hip name in Mars-rovin, but the Opportunity rover was doing it long, long before. Just yesterday Opportunity hit its ten-year anniversary on Mars—it left Earth ten years ago in July. Not bad for a mission intended to last a mere three (Earth) months. In celebration it sent back a selfie.
NASA's Opportunity Rover Celebrates a Decade on Mars
Ten years ago today, the Opportunity rover landed on Mars. In this newly released retrospective, NASA engineers reflect on the challenges they've faced keeping this intrepid little rover roving well beyond its original 90-day mission.
This mysterious rock just appeared in front of our rover on Mars
A mysterious rock suddenly appeared in front of the Opportunity rover's cameras on Mars, puzzling scientists who describe the rock as both "a total surprise" and "about the size of a jelly donut."
