By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 13th, 2019
Opportunity casts its shadow in this image from sol 180 (July 26, 2004), taken by the rover’s front hazard-avoidance camera, on the edge of Endurance Crater. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
It’s been a long 15 years, but the inevitable has finally happened: the Opportunity rover’s days of exploring Mars are over. The sad news was […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 4th, 2019
A Goldstone 111.5-foot (34-meter) beam-waveguide antenna, part of the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in the Mojave Desert in California. Antennas like this are being used to try to communicate with the Opportunity rover. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Opportunity rover has now been on Mars for an incredible 15 years since its landing in […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on February 19th, 2018
Martian dawn as seen by Opportunity on sol 4,499 (Feb. 15, 2018). Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ./Texas A&M
NASA’s Opportunity rover has just crossed another amazing threshold – passing the 5,000-sol mark on Mars. That is a phenomenal achievement, considering that the plucky little machine was designed for a hopeful lifetime of at […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on April 23rd, 2017
Composite view of the grooved ridge called Rocheport; the images were taken by Opportunity as it was leaving Cape Tribulation. The view extends from the south-east to the north. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
For about the past 30 months, the Opportunity rover has been exploring Cape Tribulation on Mars, a towering ridge on the […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on January 24th, 2017
Opportunity looks back at its landing spot within Eagle crater, after leaving tracks behind in the soil. This is where the rover began its journey 13 years ago. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Thirteen years. That is how long NASA’s Opportunity rover has now been exploring Meridiani Planum on Mars; not bad for a robot […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on April 4th, 2016
View from the Opportunity rover looking downhill from the steep hillside on sol 4323 (March 22, 2016). Part of the floor of Endeavour crater can be seen beneath the underside of one of the solar panels. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Almost, but not quite … The Opportunity rover is now driving to another area […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on January 27th, 2016
Opportunity examining the rock outcrop called “Private John Potts” on the southern side of Marathon Valley. The rover has just passed its 12th anniversary milestone and is still going strong. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
We’ve all seen the commercials for the Energizer Bunny, which keeps going and going and going. … It just never […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on November 3rd, 2015
False-color mosaic of Cumberland Ridge, with pie charts representing iron-bearing mineralogy. Image Credit: S. Cole, PhD thesis; background image: NASA/JPL/Cornell/Arizona State University; Moessbauer values from Morris et al. 2008 (doi: 10.1029/2008JE003201)
The various rover and lander missions on Mars have provided unprecedented glimpses into the planet’s past, including geological history and environmental conditions. […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on July 1st, 2015
Artist’s conception of the Prandtl-m airplane flying above the surface of Mars. Image Credit: NASA Illustration/Dennis Calaba
For several decades, Mars has been a busy place, with orbiters, landers, and rovers providing unprecedented views of the Red Planet. Another exciting possibility which has yet to be realized is an airplane, which could soar […]
Like this:Like Loading...
By Paul Scott Anderson, on May 18th, 2015
Despite decades of searching, definitive evidence for life on Mars, past or present, has still remained elusive and controversial. Confirmation of such a finding would need to be thoroughly tested and documented, and now researchers at the University of Kansas have developed a new technique that they hope would help to do just that, […]
Like this:Like Loading...
|
|