Interplanetary Robots: Opportunity

NASA’s Opportunity was a part of 2 rovers that landed on Mars in 2004 one after the other. Spirit functioned till it got stuck in Martian soil in 2010.

Opportunity has been roaming the barren planet for thirteen years now, and is quite the explorer! It looked at impact craters and then went to examine its own landing site where the heat shield was discarded. And there — surprise! — it discovered a little meteorite! Now called the Heat Shield Rock, this meteorite is the first to be discovered on another planet.

Opportunity, being on land rather than in orbit high up above, was able to examine in minute detail the soil and evidence of rocks that were smoothed out by flowing liquid water. These pellets of rock on a dried up water bed are fondly called “blueberries.”

Opportunity has also examined the soil for various minerals, and has looked up to photograph the transit of Moons Phobos and Deimos over Mars.

Opportunity takes particularly impressive panoramic images. NASA’s gallery for these images is here: https://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/panoramas/opportunity/

The above image was presented to the then-President Bill Clinton.