IceBone
Blue Wheel Hipster
The rover Opportunity took off from 7th July 2003 and landed on Mars' Meridiani Planum on 25th January 2004. Its original mission was not to last any longer than 90 days, but 14 and a half years later, the little rover was still going strong, doing science like a champ.
After an immense planet-wide dust storm in June 2018, NASA lost contact with the rover. Many attempts to contact it and get it to respond followed, with the last, failed attempt happening on February 12th 2019, after which NASA concluded that the rover has been permanently lost.
Over the 14 and a half years, the mighty rover travelled over 45 km and performed too many experiments and discoveries to count in this post. I'll just add that it was exhilirating watching it tough it out against all odds for so long.
Mission status: Complete
After an immense planet-wide dust storm in June 2018, NASA lost contact with the rover. Many attempts to contact it and get it to respond followed, with the last, failed attempt happening on February 12th 2019, after which NASA concluded that the rover has been permanently lost.
Over the 14 and a half years, the mighty rover travelled over 45 km and performed too many experiments and discoveries to count in this post. I'll just add that it was exhilirating watching it tough it out against all odds for so long.
Mission status: Complete