WEBVTT - What Did the Opportunity Rover Teach Us?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm Lauren Vogaba. Back on January two thousand four, NASA's

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<v Speaker 1>Opportunity Rover descend into the Martian surface and survived its

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<v Speaker 1>bouncy landing, to the relief of scientists anxiously monitoring the

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<v Speaker 1>space probe back at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

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<v Speaker 1>The four hundred million dollar rover, one of a pair

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<v Speaker 1>that NASA landed upon the Red planet that year, was

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<v Speaker 1>designed to last for just a few months on the rough,

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<v Speaker 1>dusty terrain of the Martian surface. Instead, to the astonishment

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<v Speaker 1>of researchers, it lasted for nearly fifteen years in Earth time,

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<v Speaker 1>the longest time that any robot from Earth has operated

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<v Speaker 1>on another planet, until it finally stopped communicating with Earth

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<v Speaker 1>after a severe Martian dusk storm in June. After unsuccessful

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<v Speaker 1>attempts to restore contact, NASA officials on February finally gave

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<v Speaker 1>up and declared that Opportunities mission was over. The exact

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<v Speaker 1>cause of the probe's demise is unclear. It could be

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<v Speaker 1>that it's solar panels went dead under a choke gingly

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<v Speaker 1>thick layer of Martian dust or that its electronics failed

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<v Speaker 1>due to the extremes of Martian weather. Opportunity had outlived

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<v Speaker 1>its robotic twin, the Spirit Rover, by nearly eight years.

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<v Speaker 1>Its final resting place is the aptly named Perseverance Valley.

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<v Speaker 1>During its astonishing lifespan, this gulf cart sized planetary probe,

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<v Speaker 1>weighing three hundred and eighty four pounds that's a hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and seventy four rams in Earth gravity, managed to cover

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<v Speaker 1>twenty eight miles or forty five kilometers that's forty four

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<v Speaker 1>times the distance scientists had designed it to cover. It's

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<v Speaker 1>set a single day Martian driving record of seven hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty one feet that's two hundred and twenty back

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<v Speaker 1>in two thousand five. During its travels, it accomplished plenty

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<v Speaker 1>of other amazing feats. Here are a few. It took

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<v Speaker 1>a whole lot of pictures. The Opportunity snapped two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and seventeen thousand images of the Martian surface, including fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>three hundred and sixty degree panoramas. Those images were more

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<v Speaker 1>than just pretty pictures. Images from its panoramic camera, equipped

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<v Speaker 1>with thirteen different color filters, gave scientists the Oportunity to

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<v Speaker 1>enhance the wavelengths and study changes in the features of

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<v Speaker 1>Martian rock formations. It discovered the Martian blueberries just a

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<v Speaker 1>few months after arriving on Mars. The probe discovered tiny

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<v Speaker 1>globules rich in hematite, which scientists dubbed blueberries because of

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<v Speaker 1>their shape and color. These blueberries provided evidence that ancient

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<v Speaker 1>Mars had a watery environment, and Opportunity found more signs

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<v Speaker 1>of ancient water and possibly ancient life on Mars. At

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<v Speaker 1>the Endeavor Crater, Opportunity found clay minerals that were formed

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<v Speaker 1>in flowing neutral pH water in the distant past. This

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<v Speaker 1>discovery raises the possibility that the environment around the crater

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<v Speaker 1>may have been able to support microbial life millions of

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<v Speaker 1>years ago. It also studied a whole lot of Martian

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<v Speaker 1>rock samples. Opportunities tools exposed the surfaces of fifty two

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<v Speaker 1>Martian rocks to reveal fresh mineral surfaces for analysis, and

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<v Speaker 1>cleared seventy two more rocks with a brush so that

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<v Speaker 1>their surfaces could be investigated by its instruments. Also, it

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<v Speaker 1>was one heck of a climber. Opportunity proved to be

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<v Speaker 1>a remarkably nimble robot, scaling gravel slopes as steep as

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<v Speaker 1>thirty two degrees, an off Earth record. With this ability,

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<v Speaker 1>it explored a whole lot of craters in the course

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<v Speaker 1>of its travels. Opportunity studied more than one hundred impact

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<v Speaker 1>craters of various sizes and gathered insights about how craters

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<v Speaker 1>form and a road over time, and it learned a

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<v Speaker 1>lot about the Martian environment. Opportunity study Martian clouds and

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<v Speaker 1>the opacity of the Martian atmosphere, including how it affects

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<v Speaker 1>solar panels on space probes. That information may help scientists

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<v Speaker 1>to design even more rugged, resilient rovers in the future.

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<v Speaker 1>The rovers instruments also tracked changes in Martian clouds as

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<v Speaker 1>they accumulated, providing scientists with the opportunity to study Martian weather.

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<v Speaker 1>In the end, NASA scientists sent eight hundred and thirty

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<v Speaker 1>five commands to Opportunity in an effort to revive it

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<v Speaker 1>before finally giving up. The final transmission from Earth was

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<v Speaker 1>the Billie Holiday song I'll be seeing You, So hats

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<v Speaker 1>off to you, Opportunity. You're the best little rover ever.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Patrick J. Keiger and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Clang for iHeartMedia. And how stuff Works. For

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<v Speaker 1>more on this and lots of other exploratory topics, visit

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<v Speaker 1>our home planet, how stuff Works dot com