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Explore Mars and experience the journey of NASA’s Opportunity rover, who traveled 28 miles across the planet's surface.
The Rover
2003–19
Rover
2003–2019
Opportunity used her panoramic camera—nicknamed Pancam—to take photographs of her surroundings to send back to her team on Earth. As the team wanted her to mimic a geologist walking from place to place, her camera was built 5 feet off the ground.
Opportunity used a collection of different spectrometers throughout her journey. A Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer—named Mini-TES for short— was used to measure the spectrums of infrared light, or heat, emitted from the minerals in Mars’ rocks and soils. This tool was specially tuned to look for minerals formed in water.
Opportunity used a collection of different spectrometers throughout her journey. A Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer—named Mini-TES for short— was used to measure the spectrums of infrared light, or heat, emitted from the minerals in Mars’ rocks and soils. This tool was specially tuned to look for minerals formed in water.
In order to mimic how a geologist might interact with mars, Opportunity was given a robotic arm for examining rocks with instruments.
Arrival
2003–04
Arrival
2003–04
Jul. 7, 2003
Opportunity launched from Earth
towards the planet Mars.
Jan. 24, 2004
Opportunity made first contact
with Mars’ surface.
Eagle Crater
2004
Eagle
2004
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Opportunity began her journey on January 25, 2004 when she landed in Eagle Crater: a small, 22 meter-long crater within the Meridiani Planum plain of Mars that is theorized to have once been a lake.
Opportunity landed on Mars through the use of a landing system including a parachute and a cocoon made up of many airbags. Once on the planets surface, the rover was able to look back on its "nest" within Eagle Crater.
Opportunity saw that Eagle Crater was lined with exposed bedrock. Mission control used the rover’s microscope to examine the crater, finding a numerous amount of little round things. These things were named “blueberries”, as they looked similar to blueberries in a muffin. After investigating the blueberries further, Opportunity’s team realized that they had once formed in water and were therefore a sign that there had been liquid water on the surface of Mars at some point in time.
After Opportunity’s landing, a circular, flower-like mark was left behind on Mars’s surface from the rover’s airbag. Scientists studied the prints for more clues about the makeup of martian soil.
Endurance Crater
2005
Endurance
2005
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After she had explored Eagle Crater, the rover's team sent Opportunity to Endurance Crater where she began to learn more about Mars’ rock structure.
Here, Opportunity began its stratigraphy of Mars, meaning the rover analyzed Mars’ layers of rock in order to learn about its geological history. Opportunity took photos of the first seven holes that the rover's rock abrasion tool dug on the inner slope of Endurance.
These chunks of rock stick up at the edge of flat rocks in Endurance. Scientists think these features may have formed when fluids migrated through fractures, depositing minerals. Fracture-filling minerals would have formed veins made up of a harder material that eroded more slowly than the rock slabs. Examination of these features using Opportunity’s instruments may further explain what they have to do with the history of water on Mars.
At the center of Endurance, Opportunity found a dramatic rippling of dunes running across the planet’s surface. Dunes are a common feature across the surface of Mars. Before Opportunity headed down to the dunes, rover drivers first established whether the slippery slope that lead to them was secure enough to allow a successful drive back out of the crater.
Opportunity captured this view of "Burns Cliff" after driving right to the base of this southeastern portion of the inner wall of Endurance Crater. Because of this wide-angle view, the cliff walls appear to bulge out toward the camera. In reality the walls form a gently curving, continuous surface.
A Bump in the Road
2005
Roadblock
2005
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Driving from Endurance Crater to Victoria Crater, Opportunity experienced some difficulty crossing the dunes of windblown material.
At one point, the rover got stuck and the team had to problem solve to help it escape.
They ended up discovering that the best solution was just to put it in reverse and speed up.
Victoria Crater
2007–08
Victoria
2007–2008
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After a long two and a half years of travel, Opportunity arrived at Victoria Crater. Upon arrival, the team then had to spend time analyzing the edge of the crater to find the best entry point.
Before entering Victoria, Opportunity’s team spent around a year scouting the rim of the crater, figuring out the best way to enter. Once a drivable inner slope was identified, the rover used instruments on its robotic arm to inspect the composition and textures of accessible layers.
Opportunity ended up spending nearly a year in Victoria Crater, focusing on stratigraphic analysis of the crater’s geology. In this crater Opportunity was able to use its camera and rock abrasion to analyze the rock structure of the planet.
After Opportuny’s exploration of Victoria Crater, she started a long journey towards Endeavour crater. Endeavour crater is 20 kilometers away from Victoria, so the team knew it was going to take a few years.
Endeavour Crater
2012–18
Endeavour
2012–2018
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After leaving Victoria, Opportunity traveled three years before finally arriving at Endeavour Crater. Here, the rover spent the final six years of her life.
The first discovery in Endeavour was the Homestake vein, a vein made of gypsum formed by fractured minerals and rocks. Since this discovery NASA has found many more of these veins, but this discovery was monumental as it was the first of its kind.
While exploring Perseverance Valley—an area within Endeavour—Opportunity found a pattern of rock stripes on the ground, a surprise to scientists on the rover team. The striped pattern resembles features seen on Earth that are formed by cycles of freezing and thawing of ground moistened by melting ice or snow. If a similar process formed the pattern in Perseverance Valley, it is possible that those conditions might have been present on the planet during a period within the past few million years.
Opportunity was driving across a valley within Endeavour crater when the team discovered Opportunity was about to hit the marathon mark of having driven 26.2 miles, the longest any of the rovers have ever driven on Mars. They decided to name this valley “Marathon Valley” after this momentous occasion.
As Opportunity made its way toward the next valley, Perseverance Valley, the rover’s journey finally came to an end. Its crew on earth lost contact with the rover on June 10, 2018 as a Mars-wide dust storm blanketed its location. On February 12, 2019, NASA’s mission control sent their last command to Opportunity, and her mission was declared complete.
The End
2019
The End
2019
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Designed and coded by Lauren Elise Nickels with HTML and CSS
Mission Objective:
proof of water on mars
Opportunity was one of a twin set of rovers—Spirit and Opportunity—who landed on Mars in 2004. Their goal was to analyze the formation of rocks and terrain on Mars in search of previous existence of water on the planet.
Opportunity’s original mission was supposed to last around 90 sols (Martian days), but she surpassed that original goal and ended up journeying on for 15 years.
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