NASA has sent its last message to the Opportunity Mars rover. But it doesn’t expect a reply.
The robot has been silent for the past eight months, disappearing amid an intense dust storm on the red planet. As the thick dust whipped up and around the rover – and across the entirety of Mars – the sunlight that powers it was blocked and its batteries ran out.
NASA has now issued a last series of recovery commands. It joins more than 1,000 messages that have been sent in an attempt to wake up the rover.
The space agency will reveal the results of that last attempt at a major press conference. That event will probably see it declare Opportunity dead, after 15 years and many miles spent exploring Mars.Opportunity and its twin rover Spirit landed on the surface of Mars in January 2004 and were only expected to survive their roles as geologic explorers for 3 months. Spirit was declared "dead" in 2011. Both rovers contributed beyond measure to our knowledge of the geologic record of Mars, including evidence that water once flowed on the surface.
The Curiosity and InSight landers continue their missions on the surface of Mars. May they enjoy the longevity and success of their pioneering predecessors.
(Image: Opportunity's tracks in the Martian surface; NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State)
