May 29
Opportunity Rings Up 10 Miles on Mars
Posted in: NASA, science, space, Space Tech, Today's Chili
The Opportunity Mars rover has now passed the 10-mile mark on the red planet’s surface, according to Softpedia. The milestone comes more than five years after the rover landed on Mars along with its twin, Spirit, on opposite sides of the planet. Opportunity’s achievement also comes as Spirit remains stuck in some loose terrain.
For the most part, Opportunity is in excellent condition, although it is slowed somewhat by a little wear on several of its mechanical parts. Spirit, though, has had a jammed wheel for the past three years and has been driving backwards ever since–and is now stuck to boot.
“For a vehicle that was designed to travel 1 km over its lifetime, going 16+ km is a pretty substantial accomplishment!” said Steve Squyres, the project’s lead scientist and based at Cornell University, in an interview with Space. Opportunity is currently on its way to Endeavor crater.
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