MARS ROVER HALL OF FAME

by Robert Lamb, HowStuffWorks.com

Opportunity

Having arrived on Mars just three weeks after its MER twin Spirit, Opportunity has also far exceeded its 90-sol life expectancy, despite various setbacks. While cleaning events have given Opportunity a longer lease of life, it too has had its share of wheel problems, as well as a motor winding glitch in its shoulder that has put its robotic arm out of service for weeks at a time.

Opportunity and Spirit have taught NASA scientists a lot -- not just about Mars, but also about the best ways to carry out remote, robotic operations on another planet.

Faced with a constant barrage of technological and geological challenges, the team has developed effective, disciplined responses to get the most out of the distant robots.

As of June 2009, Opportunity was still operational and on its way to the massive Endeavour crater. With any luck, the rover will descend into the rocky bowl and glean even more information about the Red Planet's past.

Image: Artists impression of Opportunity superimposed over an image taken by the rover in Endurance Crater. Credit: NASA

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