Opportunity: the story
Opportunity · Chapter 1 of 6
July 2003
Launch
A Delta II carried Opportunity off Cape Canaveral at 23:18 EDT on 7 July 2003.
Opportunity · Chapter 2 of 6
January 2004
Landing
Wrapped in airbags, it bounced across Meridiani Planum and rolled into Eagle crater.
Opportunity · Chapter 3 of 6
2004
Water evidence
Tiny hematite spheres and layered bedrock showed that liquid water once soaked these rocks.
Opportunity · Chapter 4 of 6
2011
Endeavour crater
After three years of driving, it reached a crater 22 km wide and found a vein of gypsum left by water.
Opportunity · Chapter 5 of 6
June 2018
The storm
A planet-wide dust storm blocks the sunlight Opportunity needs for power.
Opportunity · Chapter 6 of 6
10 June 2018
Last signal
Its final data showed very low power and a dark sky. Then silence. The mission was declared complete on 13 February 2019.
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