Happy tenth anniversary on Mars! There are not enough exclamation points to express just how amazing it is to have a machine designed for a 92-day mission headed into day 3,654. I love Opportunity's celebratory selfie!
I'm glad Opportunity has company in the form of the comparatively huge, nuclear powered Curiosity. I hope a good wind knocks some of the dust off these solar panels.
Many people have forgotten the harrowing encounter at Purgatory Dune in 2005. The mission could have been over had it not been for patience and ingenuity.
Barring gimpy motors and power shortages, it just seems this little bot will keep on ticking. I'm amazed. Not quite to the point of Voyager amazed, but amazed nonetheless.
Keep up the great work!
Love,
Vintage Technology Obsessions
P.S. True space geeks must visit the tenth anniversary image collection. My ode to Opportunity's eight birthday is here. It seems the solar panels were a bit cleaner at the the time. I also nerded out on Voyager as it hurtles into interstellar space and continues to send back data with technology dating to when Star Wars, AMC Pacers and Apple IIs were shiny and new. That was a simpler time when Han still shot first and you could see the matte lines around tie fighters.
P.S.S. This blog still isn't dead. It just isn't getting much attention given my love of the photographic community and near daily postings on Google+
Love it. I can't get enough, personally, of the rover stuff.
ReplyDeleteVery cool stuff. It would be more exciting if there were human beings there, but then again, the transmissions provide us earthlings with images more vivid than we ever got with the moon landings.
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