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20 years of the twin Mars rovers; How did Opportunity and Spirit revolutionize Martian science?

Spirit landed on Mars on January 3, and Opportunity arrived three weeks later on January 24. The twin rovers were originally designed for a mission of only 90 days; But by relying on solar energy, they survived for years in the harsh environment of Mars. Opportunity explored Mars for an astonishing 15 years before succumbing to a dust storm on the Red Planet in 2018. This longevity was far beyond the wildest dreams of scientists and engineers who expected a limited exploration of Mars to a distance of less than 600 meters.

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Instead, the mission team got to roam a wide variety of Martian terrain thanks to the longevity of their probes. Opportunity was the first rover to walk a distance of two marathons on another planet. Before the end of its life, this legendary probe covered nearly 45 km of the surface of Mars and set an unattainable record in the field of the farthest distance traveled on another planet.

John Callas, former project manager of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, describes Opportunity’s stunning mission as an unexpected paradigm shift. “The distance and time scale covered is truly historic,” he said.

Opportunity was the first rover to walk a distance of two marathons on another planet.

The unprecedented long opportunity to explore Mars not only showed that Mars was once a wetter world, but also that the planet hosted a wide range of aquatic environments, including hot springs and acidic and saline pools, at certain points in its history.

Continuity of inspiration

The twin rovers also inspired a new generation of scientists. One of them was Abigail Freeman, a high school student who was invited to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the night of Opportunity’s landing. He had the opportunity to watch with excitement the first signal from Opportunity confirming the rover’s safe landing.

Freeman then went on to study geology and returned to JPL years later to help manage Opportunity’s science team. He, who is now the deputy scientist of the Curiosity project, considers many of the people he met on the night of Opportunity’s landing to be his close colleagues.

“The people who have kept our twin probes exploring all these years are an amazing group, and the number of people who have made Mars exploration their careers is impressive,” Freeman said. “I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with them every day as we venture into places no human has ever seen before in an attempt to answer some of the biggest questions.”

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