R.I.P.: Opportunity

[Judge]

Opportunity was a "rover" built to last three months in exploring the surface of Mars. After 15 years, it finally stopped sending signals some eight months ago. Presumably as the result of a ferocious dust storm.

Thank you NASA. We sure got our money's worth from this particular venture. Well done.

NASA rover finally bites the dust on Mars after 15 years

 

[Butterfly88]

Wow, but I guess it did pretty well all things considered.

 

[Shamar]

Opportunity was a "rover" built to last three months in exploring the surface of Mars. After 15 years, it finally stopped sending signals some eight months ago. Presumably as the result of a ferocious dust storm.

Thank you NASA. We sure got our money's worth from this particular venture. Well done.

NASA rover finally bites the dust on Mars after 15 years

I constantly hear about the deaths of celebrities, and each time gushing about how beloved they are and how their passing is such a loss to to humanity. Generally I have not even heard of 90% of these celebrities, and I for one, feel no loss. Yet, I have barely heard anything about the loss of Opportunity, or it's twin, Curiosity. These two robots have done more for humanity than most of the "celebrities" who died in the past year put together

Frankly, I have more of feeling of attachment to these hardy machines than to humans, and feel their loss more than the loss of any person. They are fellow Explorers, sent to explore a hostile environment, and succeeded far beyond anyone's expectations.

You are missed, little fellows.

 

[Mia]

Saw a photograph of 'Oppy' or Opportunity whose apparent last message translated to 'My battery is low, and it is getting dark.'

Bye Oppy you did your job above and beyond what you were tasked to do.

It's possible too, that during one of the many dust storms that happen on mars, the dust will be blown off and it might communicate again.

 

[GrownupGirl]

One celebrity who died in my lifetime that I actually felt a loss for was Jim Henson. Although the real celebrities were his Muppets, I guess. But am I supposed to cry over a machine, now? Especially one that probably cost a ton of money that I think could have been put to better use on Earth?

Ya gotta love the human race. Spending billions of dollars to see if they can make another planet habitable instead of using it to make the Earth more habitable.

Spending billions more dollars to find life on other planets but not caring that they're killing of the Earth's planets.

Spending maybe a billion dollars to invent a pen that can write in zero gravity instead of just using a pencil. Okay that last one is really just an urban myth. Apparently it was originally a Soviet Russian guy who told NASA in the US they could have just used a pencil to write in outer space, but more recently I've heard the urban legend being retold where it's a Canadian who tells them that fact.

 

[clg114]

I wish that my truck was built that well.

 

[Judge]

I wish that my truck was built that well.

Funny you mention that given the inevitable privatization of space exploration. Let's just hope that everything "going up" with SpaceX is built to superior specifications compared to Tesla.

But then I suspect Elon Musk would just smirk and say, "Of course".

Awkward!