Opportunity rover

Science Affairs Space

17-Feb-19

Opportunity rover

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that its Mars Mission, Opportunity has concluded .The decision to end the mission was made after all the efforts to restore contact with the Opportunity Mars which was lost due to dust storm on Mars and cut off solar power of the rover.

About the Mission

Opportunity was the second of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers to land on Mars in January 2004.
Opportunity landed 90 days after its twin rover Spirit landed. Spirit landed at Gusev Crater and Opportunity landed on the opposite side of Mars at Meridiani Planum.

NASA expected 90-day lifetimes for the rovers. Both Opportunity and Spirit far exceeded their expected lifetime. Spirit’s mission ended in May 2011 after travelling eight kilometres and Opportunity had logged 45 kilometres before losing contact in June 2018.

Achievements:

Opportunity was the first rover to identify and characterise sedimentary rocks on a planet other than Earth. Besides small spheres of haematite nicknamed “blueberries” that formed late from rising, acidic groundwater, Opportunity found white veins of gypsum, a telltale sign of water that travelled through underground fractures. It also discovered clay minerals that formed in neutral-pH water.

छोटे Courses बड़े Results

Master Space

Prepare through Micro-courses