NASA’s Opportunity rover operated on Mars for more than 14 years after landing in 2004.
Opportunity landed in Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004, after arriving inside a protective airbag system. Its planned mission was only about 90 Martian sols, but it continued exploring for roughly 15 years before NASA declared the mission complete in February 2019.
The rover examined rocks and soils that showed Mars had once experienced water-related conditions. It also traveled farther across another planet than any other wheeled vehicle at the time, documenting craters, plains, dunes, and exposed bedrock.
Opportunity’s final communications came during a planet-wide dust storm in June 2018. Its long operational life resulted from careful engineering, favorable terrain, and repeated cleaning of its solar panels by Martian wind. Spirit, its twin, ended earlier after becoming immobilized.