Opportunity, otherwise known as “Oppy,” was a rover created by NASA as a part of their Mars Exploration Rover (MER) program. The MER mission included two Mars rovers, both Opportunity and Spirit; Spirit was active from 2004 – 2010. In July 2003, the rover Oppy began its journey to Mars. It took Opportunity about 6 months to land on Mars, where it was expected to last roughly 90 days.
However, Opportunity lasted 55 times longer than its expected duration. By the end of the rover’s mission, it had lived 5,498 days (15 years), becoming one of NASA’s most famous and endearing missions to date. Opportunity made many significant scientific observations throughout its life, the following are some of the most significant.