Mars rover that just kept going andgoing and going finally shut down

Image 1. This NASA illustration shows the rover Opportunity on the surface of Mars. The exploratory vehicle landed onJanuary 24, 2004. Photo by: NASA/AP

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA is the U.S. space agency. Its Opportunityrover landed on Mars 15 years ago. The vehicle was built to operate for only threemonths. However, it just kept going and going, rolling across the rocky red soil.NASA scientists finally pronounced the rover dead on February 13.

The vehicle helped gather important evidence that ancient Mars might have beenable to support life. Up until eight months ago, the rover was remarkably tough. Itwas finally doomed by a powerful dust storm.

Flight controllers tried numerous times to make contact the night of February 12.They also sent one last wake-up song, Billie Holiday's "I'll Be Seeing You." Itbrought tears to team members' eyes. There was no response from space, onlysilence.

By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 02.19.19 Word Count 746 Level 810L

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Thomas Zurbuchen is the head of NASA's science missions. He broke the news atthe space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

John Callas is a NASA project manager. "This is a hard day," he said at anauditorium packed with hundreds of current and former team members. Thescientists oversaw Opportunity and its long-lost twin rover, Spirit. "Even thoughit's a machine and we're saying goodbye, it's still very hard," Callas said.

The two small rovers landed on oppositesides of the planet in 2004. Their missionwas meant to last 90 sols, or Mars days. AMars day is 39 minutes longer than an Earthday. In the end, Opportunity outlived its twinby eight years. Until communication endedlast June, Opportunity roamed a record 28miles. It worked longer than any otherlander in the history of space exploration.

Opportunity was a robotic scientist. It hadall kinds of tools for studying rocks and soil.Along with Spirit, the rover found evidencethat ancient Mars had water on itssurface. The planet might once have been capable of supporting very tinyorganisms.

Matthew Golombek is a NASA project scientist. He said these rover missions aremeant to help answer a mysterious question. Does life form wherever conditionsare just right or is Earth just really lucky?

Lori Glaze is the acting director of planetary science for NASA. The rovers gaveus "the ability to actually roll right up to the rocks that we want to see," she said."Roll up to them, be able to look at them up close with a microscopic imager."That helps scientists learn more about the rocks.

Opportunity was exploring one of Mars's valleys when the fiercest dust storm inmany years hit. The storm caused NASA scientists to lose contact with the rover.For months the sky was dark. Sunlight was not able to reach the rover's solarpanels. The rover got power from the sunlight. When the sunlight hit the panels itgave the rover power.

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When the sky finally cleared, Opportunity remained silent. The rover's internalclock was probably damaged. The vehicle no longer knew when to wake up toreceive commands. Flight controllers sent more than 1,000 commands, but theywere not able to reach the rover.

With project costs reaching about $500,000a month, NASA decided there was no pointin continuing. Callas said the last attempt tomake contact the night before was a sadmoment. There were tears when theoperations team signed off. The teammembers didn't even bother waiting aroundto see if word came back from space. Theyknew it was hopeless.

Scientists consider this the end of an era,now that Opportunity and Spirit are bothgone. Opportunity was the fifth of eightspacecraft to successfully land on Mars, allbelonging to NASA. Only two are still working. They are the Curiosity rover andthe InSight lander. Curiosity has been exploring Mars since 2012. InSight arrivedon the red planet only recently.

Three more landers are due to launch next year. NASA Administrator JimBridenstine said the main goal is to search for evidence of life on Mars. Thelanders will also look for locations to send astronauts in the future.

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Quiz

1 Why did scientists feel heartbroken after Opportunity stopped working?

(A) because Opportunity didn't help them learn anything about Mars

(B) because Opportunity only worked for three months before it died

(C) because they thought that Opportunity had found proof of life on Mars

(D) because they had spent many years working with Opportunity

2 What is the relationship between Opportunity and Spirit?

(A) They both went to Mars at the same time, but Spirit collected more information.

(B) They both went to Mars at the same time, but Opportunity lasted longer.

(C) Opportunity arrived before Spirit, but Spirit explored more miles on Mars.

(D) Opportunity arrived after Spirit, but Opportunity worked much better than Spirit.

3 Read the paragraph from the section "Solar-Powered Rover Went To Sleep."

Opportunity was exploring one of Mars's valleys when the fiercest duststorm in many years hit. The storm caused NASA scientists to losecontact with the rover. For months the sky was dark. Sunlight was notable to reach the rover's solar panels. The rover got power from thesunlight. When the sunlight hit the panels it gave the rover power. "Eventhough it's a machine and we're saying goodbye, it's still very hard,"Callas said.

Which word from the paragraph helps the reader understand the meaning of "solar"?

(A) storm

(B) power

(C) sunlight

(D) machine

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4 Read the sentence from the introduction [paragraph 1].

NASA scientists finally pronounced the rover dead on February 13.

Which answer uses "pronounced" in the SAME way as the sentence above?

(A) The Queen pronounced him pardoned of any wrongdoing.

(B) The speaker had not pronounced her name correctly.

(C) The teacher noticed a pronounced enthusiasm in the classroom.

(D) There are pronounced differences between frogs and toads.

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