Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2019

24 ASTRONAUTICS One of the most successful and enduring feats of interplanetary exploration, NASA's Opportunity rover mission ended after almost 15 years exploring the sur- face of Mars. The Opportunity rover stopped communicating with Earth when a severe Mars-wide dust storm blan- keted its location in June 2018. After more than a thousand commands to re- store contact, engineers in the Space Flight Operations Facility at NASA's JPL made their last attempt to revive Oppor- tunity last February, but to no avail. This photo-reportage aims to pay tribute to Opportunity and its twin rover Spirit. Mars rover Opp by NASA/JPL-Caltech revised by Damian G. Allis NASA Solar System Ambassador MARCH-APRIL 2019