TORONTO – NASA’s Mars Opportunity rover is the Energizer Bunny of all rovers.
Despite entering its 11th year of a 90-day mission, facing several obstacles, including its most recent memory issue, the little rover that could has reached the top of the Martian hill called Cape Tribulation.
READ MORE: It just keeps going and going: Mars rover sets solar system record
The little rover, which arrived on the red planet Jan. 24, 2004, has travelled more than 40 km and sent back about 200,000 images.
On Dec. 11, 2014, NASA announced that Opportunity had suffered from “amnesia” and computer resets. However, the rover is still in “working mode” and engineers continue to troubleshoot the problem. Still, it doesn’t seem to be hindering the scientific efforts of the mission.
Opportunity will spend several days at the hill’s summit taking images that engineers will use to produce a mosaic of the area. Project manager John Callas says the rover will try to find interesting rocks to study. If there are none to be found, it will keep driving.
–with files from The Associated Press
Comments