The journey of one of the most successful Martian rovers ever. The lessons afforded from both Spirit and Opportunity hopefully will help both ESA and NASA with the next Martian rovers: the ExoMars and Mars2020.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
NASA: This final traverse map for NASA’s Opportunity rover shows where the rover was located within Perseverance Valley on June 10, 2018, the last date it made contact with its engineering team.
Visible in this map is a yellow traverse route beginning at Opportunity’s landing site, Eagle Crater, and ranging 28.06 miles (45.16 kilometers) to its final resting spot on the rim of Endeavour Crater. The rover was descending down into the crater in Perseverance Valley when the dust storm ended its mission.
This map is made from several images taken by the Context Camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Those images are: B02_010486_1779_XN_02S005W, P15_006847_1770_XN_03S005W, and P13_006135_1789_XN_01S005W. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates the camera.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter projects for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
