Opportunity was one of two NASA rovers sent to Mars in 2003, together with Spirit, and it landed in January 2004 at Meridiani Planum, on the opposite side of the planet from its twin. Designed to work for about three months, it kept going for fourteen years. Soon after landing it found small spherical grains of hematite, nicknamed blueberries, and rocks with salts that showed that liquid water had once been present. It traveled more than forty kilometers and explored craters such as Endurance and Endeavour. A global dust storm in 2018 cut off its solar power, and NASA declared the mission over in early 2019.
Before and after
- 26 June 2003Creation of Damn Small Linux
- 27 June 2003Release of Wikiquote
- 29 June 2003Death of Katharine Hepburn
- 1 July 2003Founding of Tesla
- 8 July 2003Launch of Opportunity
- 8 July 2003Release of Hebrew Wikipedia
- 8 July 2003Release of Hungarian Wikipedia
- 9 July 2003Release of Arabic Wikipedia
- 9 July 2003Release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
More in Universe & space
- 30 September 1975Discovery of Themisto
- 24 May 1981Discovery of Larissa
- 22 August 1981Discovery of Pan
- 20 January 1986Discovery of Ophelia
- 19 February 1986Launch of Mir
- 18 September 1989Discovery of Naiad
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.