The little rover that could, Opportunity, has reached the end of its record-setting mission. Launched in July 2003, Opportunity was meant to last only three months and travel only about 1000 meters, but it exceeded its life expectancy and went for almost 15 years. It traveled more than 28 miles. It made its way into Perseverance Valley, its final resting place.
It set a one-day Mars driving record by traveling 721 feet and returned more than 217,000 images. Opportunity got trapped in a sand ripple but NASA managed to free it by putting in reverse and gunning it.
Last year, a planet-wide dust storm passed over it. Before the storm, Opportunity signaled that its batteries were running low. Afterwards, NASA tried a thousand commands to restore contact but to no avail. Its last communication was received June 10.
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