When we think we usually think roadtrip travel more than 1,000 kilometers, often to unknown destinations, with the idea of enjoying both own destiny as the trip itself. Lately, we have done enough in motor roadtrips, one with an Audi R8 LMX , another with a Volkswagen Beetle Cabrio. But they are roadtrips from the point of view … Terrestrial. Opportunity scanning probe leads eleven years doing a roadtrip across the surface of Mars . This is the chronicle of his interesting mission.
At this time, Curiosity is the most advanced probe working on the surface of Mars.
Opportunity landed on Mars on January 25, 2004 , and its initial mission was to endure 90 days in Martian soil, collect data and samples to send back to Earth. After those 90 days, your life would go out and would become part of the Martian ecosystem. However, the excellent performance of the rover and its exceptional resistance has led the NASA extend their life expectancy from 90 days to as many as 20 years. Let’s face it also had something to do cuts to Americans NASA .
Anyway, Opportunity carried eleven and a half years moving around the surface of Marta. The NASA has posted a time-lapse audio, the closest thing to a video that has enabled composing this probe. Although the images a bit dizzy, gives a sense of movement and allows us to appreciate alien landscapes that otherwise could never have imagined. During his more than eleven years, the rover has traveled no less than 42.2 kilometers with electric drive Thanks to the almost infinite energy of the sun.
Opportunity Mars resists harsh, and would work until 2024.
Although it is a short distance in terrestrial terms, think that Opportunity is located hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth, in an unbreathable atmosphere, operating semi-autonomously. The Endurance, Victoria and the giant Endeavour crater have been the site of impressive feats in scientific terms. Feats such as demonstrate the existence of water on Mars in the past , or discover the oldest rock ever found in the solar system. Almost nothing.
To Opportunity still has a lot of rope, but several factors were about to end their mission. A dust storm in 2007 required a partial hibernation systems: the sun was blocked by dust. In 2005, Opportunity spent five weeks stuck in a small dune 30 centimeters high . He left without consequences, but it’s just a detail that shows the tremendous challenges of space exploration. There is still a lot of rope in Opportunity, the twin Spirit worked for six years.
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Source: NASA
In motor: Conquering Mars, the Moon was before, thanks to electric mobility