The car-sized Mars rover ceased all communications with Earth in June 2018, when a planet-wide storm engulfed Mars. Now after 15 incredible years of exploring the surface of the Red Planet, NASA has finally pulled the plug on the mission. The sad announcement came after NASA’s engineers have spent all available options to try and revive Opportunity. On Wednesday, February 13, the US space agency said Opportunity stood at the forefront of Mars and will be sorely missed.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said: “It is because of trailblazing missions such as Opportunity that there will come a day when our brave astronauts walk on the surface of Mars.
“And when that day arrives, some portion of that first footprint will be owned by the men and women of Opportunity, and a little rover that defied the odds and did so much in the name of exploration.”
But the already gloomy news form NASA was made worse when the space agency revealed Opportunity’s last communique with Earth.
As the Martian storm descended on the rover and the skies were choked of all sunlight, the solar-powered Opportunity messaged NASA saying: “My battery is low and it’s getting dark.”
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NASA Opportunity: The brave Mars rover has officially died on the Red Planet (Image: NASA)
NASA Opportunity: The rover was lost in Perseverance Valley on Mars (Image: NASA)
News of Opportunity’s “death” sparked worldwide support and words of consolation for NASA and its engineers.
The legacy of Opportunity continues
Messages of support flooded social media as Opportunity’s heartbreaking last words were revealed to the public.
Twitter user Giddy, @giddthegoat, tweeted: “Okay, I’m like actually really, really sad about the Opportunity Rover?
“She was so scared her last message was, ‘My battery is running low and it’s getting dark’, like how depressing is that?
“Thank you for helping us discover for 14 years, Opportunity. Missing you.”
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Jemimah Violette, @ahoyjamie, said: “When Opportunity rover said, ‘My battery is low and it’s getting dark’, I felt that.”
Maxwells Demon, @yoonmims, said: “Love how the Mars Opportunity rover was only supposed to go on a 90-day mission and yet it survived for 15 years. Truly an icon.”
Khaliday Mirany, @Khalid_Mirany, said: “It marked a very heart-saddening event.
“The Opportunity rover which had been on Mars since 2004 for only a 90 days mission, surpassed everyone’s expectations by living up for more than 14 years in its mission, finally came to a stop. Rest in peace.”
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NASA Opportunity: Heartfelt messages came in from around the world (Image: NASA TWITTER)
NASA Opportunity: The rover extended a 90-day mission into 15 years on Mars (Image: NASA TWITTER)
The NASA Opportunity rover took off from Earth on July 7, 2003, on an interstellar trip toward the infamous Red Planet.
The robots rover was designed to explore the surface of Mars for 90 Martian days – just a little over 90 Earth days – and travel 3,609ft (1,100m).
But the rover exceeded all expectations 60-times, lasting a groundbreaking 15 years on Mars.
Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said: “For more than a decade, Opportunity has been an icon in the field of planetary exploration, teaching us about Mars’ ancient past as a wet, potentially habitable planet, and revealing uncharted Martian landscapes.
“Whatever loss we feel now must be tempered with the knowledge that the legacy of Opportunity continues – both on the surface of Mars with the Curiosity rover and InSight lander – and in the clean rooms of JPL, where the upcoming Mars 2020 rover is taking shape.”
Opportunity died in the western edge of Mars’ Perseverance Valley – a 14-miles-wide (22km) crater descending a Martian slope.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory director Michael Watkins said: “I cannot think of a more appropriate place for Opportunity to endure on the surface of Mars than one called Perseverance Valley.
“The records, discoveries and sheer tenacity of this intrepid little rover is testament to the ingenuity, dedication, and perseverance of the people who built and guided her.”