{"id":802943,"date":"2026-07-07T06:35:31","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:35:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=802943"},"modified":"2026-07-07T06:35:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T11:35:31","slug":"opportunity-left-for-mars-on-july-7-2003","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=802943","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity left for Mars on July 7, 2003"},"content":{"rendered":"


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NASA\u2019s Mars exploration rover Opportunity took this dramatic image of its shadow on sol 180 (July 26, 2004). Opportunity was using its front hazard-avoidance camera as it moved farther into Endurance Crater in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars. Image via NASA\/ JPL-Caltech.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA\u2019s beloved Mars rover Opportunity \u2013 nicknamed Oppy \u2013 launched on July 7, 2003, and ended up surpassing all expectations. It was designed to last 90 Martian days and travel 1,100 yards (1,000 meters). But it lasted 15 years and traveled more than 28 miles (45 km) before finally succumbing to a dust storm.<\/p>\n

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July 7, 2003: Opportunity heads to Mars<\/h3>\n

Opportunity blasted off on its journey to Mars on July 7, 2003. After traveling for some seven months through space, Opportunity landed in Mars\u2019 Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004. This was three weeks after its twin rover Spirit touched down on the other side of the planet. Spirit stopped moving across Mars\u2019 surface in 2009 and it stopped sending signals back to Earth in 2010. <\/p>\n

But Opportunity \u2013 designed to last for 90 Martian days and travel 1,100 yards (1,000 meters) \u2013 vastly surpassed all expectations in its endurance, scientific value and longevity. The rover\u2019s mission effectively ended in 2018 (officially in 2019) after some 15 years exploring the surface of Mars. <\/p>\n

Incredibly, in addition to exceeding its life expectancy by 60 times, the rover traveled more than 28 miles (45 km) by the time it reached its appropriate final resting spot in Mars\u2019 Perseverance Valley. The Opportunity rover stopped communicating with Earth when a severe Mars-wide dust storm blanketed its location in June 2018. Presumably, the storm affected the rover\u2019s solar panels. We received Opportunity\u2019s final communication on June 10, 2018.<\/p>\n

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A layer of dust covers Opportunity\u2019s solar arrays following a dust storm in January 2014 (left). But by March 2014 much of the dust had blown away (right). Image via NASA\/ JPL Caltech\/ Arizona State\/ Cornell.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The long goodbye<\/h3>\n

Throughout the late summer and fall of 2018, engineers in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) conducted a multifaceted, eight-month recovery strategy to try to get the rover to communicate. They sent more than 1,000 commands to the rover \u2026 but there was no response. In what became a months-long outpouring of emotion, space fans on Twitter and other social media platforms began using the hashtags #ThankYouOppy<\/a> and #GoodnightOppy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Space engineers made their last attempt to revive Opportunity on February 12, 2019. They started with a \u201cwake-up song\u201d played in the control room at JPL. The mission\u2019s principal investigator, Steve Squyres, had chosen I\u2019ll Be Seeing You<\/em>, as performed by Billie Holiday. At 8:10 p.m., Holiday\u2019s wistful voice floated up from the command floor: <\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places that this heart of mine embraces.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n