Opportunity
Opportunity was a NASA Mars rover, part of the Mars Exploration Rover mission, that landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004. Originally designed for a 90‑sol mission, it operated for nearly 15 years—more than 5,000 sols—traversing over 45 km and providing strong evidence that Mars once held liquid water. It ceased communications after a global dust storm in June 2018 and was declared complete in February 2019.
Source: science.nasa.gov
APODs including "Opportunity"
Razorbacks in Endurance Crater
27/07/2004
Over one year after its launch, robot geologist Opportunity has been spending recent sols on Mars inching its way down the slopes of Endurance crater. Littered with martian blueberries, some flat rocks within the crater also seem to have surprising razorbacks -- narrow slabs sticking up along their edges. Like the blueberries, it's possible that the sharp, narrow features are related to water. They could be formed by minerals deposited by water in cracks, with the surrounding softer material subsequently eroded away. How narrow are they? The ones pictured here in an enhanced color image from Opportunity's panoramic camera are actually only a few centimeters high and about half a centimeter wide. Impressive 3D views have been constructed by stereo experimenter P. Vantuyne based on the camera's left and right eye images of the region.