After 15 yrs, NASA bids adieu to Mars rover Opportunity

LOS ANGELES: Opportunity, a remarkably durable NASA rover designed to roll along the surface of Mars for three months, has stopped communicating with Earth after 15 years of service, officials said, ending a mission that astounded the US space agency. Engineers lost contact with the solar-powered vehicle on June 10 during a dust storm that encircled Mars. Since then, NASA officials made numerous attempts to reach the six-wheeled rover, which is about the size of a golf cart. Opportunity’s equipment may have been compromised by the storm, which struck while the rover was at a site called Perseverance Valley and blotted out sunlight needed by the robot’s solar panels, officials said.

The vehicle was built to drive 1 km, but ended up covering 45 km and lasting longer on Mars than any other robot.