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Monthly brief

NASA · RoverEnded

Opportunity rover

Opportunity was a NASA rover that worked on Mars for more than 14 years, though it was built to last 90 sols. A dust storm that grew to circle the planet cut it off on Jun 10, 2018, its sol 5,111. After more than a thousand recovery commands, NASA ended the mission on Feb 13, 2019. It drove 45.16 km (28.06 mi), still the farthest of any rover as of October 2026.

Updated Sources (12)

What happened to the Opportunity rover?

In mid-2018 a dust storm spread until it wrapped the whole planet. Opportunity ran on sunlight, and the dust blotted it out.[4][5]

  1. Jun 10, 2018 · sol 5,111Last contact. The dust in the sky was so thick that its measure of haze, called tau, read 10.8. The rover was at about −29 °C (−20 °F).[4]
  2. Days laterJPL’s team said it was working on the assumption that its battery charge had dipped below 24 volts and it had gone into a low-power fault mode, with everything switched off except a clock.[4]
  3. Jun 20, 2018NASA said the storm had become a planet-encircling dust event.[5]
  4. Eight monthsNASA’s recovery effort sent more than a thousand commands to wake it. None got an answer.[6]
  5. Feb 12, 2019Engineers sent the last commands.[6]
  6. Feb 13, 2019NASA declared the mission over. “…the likelihood of receiving a signal is far too low to continue recovery efforts,” project manager John Callas said.[6][7]

What were Opportunity’s last words?

What people quoteMy battery is low and it’s getting dark.

Not sent by the rover. Science reporter Jacob Margolis wrote it as a “poetic translation” of the rover’s last data, and it spread from there.[9]

What it actually sentA noisy, incomplete image.

The last data NASA received, on sol 5,111, was a dark, partial picture of a Sun hidden by dust, NASA says.[8]

The real message was less poetic but said much the same thing. “It basically said we had no power left, and that was the last time we heard from it,” deputy project scientist Abigail Fraeman told Margolis. “It also told us the skies were incredibly dark, to the point where no sunlight gets through,” Callas added.[9]

Opportunity’s last image

A dark, speckled square image, mostly black at the bottom where the transmission stopped
Opportunity’s last messageTaken on sol 5,111 (Jun 10, 2018) with the left eye of its Pancam camera, pointed at a Sun hidden by dust. The white specks are camera noise. The transmission stopped before the bottom of the image arrived.[8]Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/ASUSee it at NASA →

How long did Opportunity last?

5,111sols on Mars before its last contact
57×its 90-sol design life
45.16 km28.06 miles driven, against a plan of about 1 km
14.4Earth years from landing to last contact
217,000+images sent to Earth
1,000+commands sent to wake it

Opportunity counted its landing day as sol 1. Ratios and years calculated from NASA’s figures.[1][6][11]

What did Opportunity find?

Signs of water, right where it landed. Opportunity found hematite, a mineral that forms in water, in Eagle crater, and later strong signs of ancient water at Endeavour crater.[6]

It also set records. It drove 220 m (721 ft) in one day on Mar 20, 2005,[6] passed the length of a marathon on Mar 24, 2015, “the first time any human enterprise has exceeded the distance of a marathon on the surface of another world,” Callas said,[10] and in March 2016 drove on a slope that tilted it 32°, a record for a Mars rover.[1]

Is Opportunity still on Mars?

Yes. It rests in Perseverance Valley, a gully cut into the western rim of Endeavour crater, which it reached in May 2017.[1][7] As of October 2026, its total of 45.16 km (28.06 mi) is still the farthest any rover has driven on another world, with NASA’s Perseverance close behind.[1][12]

Mission timeline

  1. Launches on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral (UTC date).
  2. Lands in Eagle crater, Meridiani Planum.
  3. Drives 220 m (721 ft) in one day, a record.
  4. Passes the length of a marathon.
  5. Drives on a 32° slope, a record for a Mars rover.
  6. Reaches Perseverance Valley.
  7. Last contact, during the global dust storm.
  8. NASA declares the mission over.

Questions

Is Opportunity still on Mars?

Yes. It sits where it stopped, in Perseverance Valley on the western rim of Endeavour crater. It hasn’t been heard from since Jun 10, 2018.

What were Opportunity rover’s last words?

It sent no words. Its last data, on Jun 10, 2018, was a noisy, incomplete image of a sky darkened by dust, plus engineering data showing very low power.

Did Opportunity say “my battery is low and it’s getting dark”?

No. A science reporter, Jacob Margolis, wrote that line as a “poetic translation” of what the rover’s last data meant, and it spread from there.

What happened to the Opportunity rover?

A dust storm that grew to circle the planet blocked the sunlight its solar panels needed. NASA ended the mission on Feb 13, 2019, after more than 1,000 commands got no reply.

How long did Opportunity last?

More than 14 years: from landing on Jan 25, 2004 (UTC) to its last contact on Jun 10, 2018, its sol 5,111. It was built for 90 sols.

How far did Opportunity drive?

45.16 km (28.06 mi). It was built to drive about 1 km. As of October 2026 no rover has driven farther, though Perseverance is close.

Sources

  1. NASA Science — OpportunityPrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  2. NASA NSSDCA — Opportunity (2003-032A)Primary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  3. NASA GISS — Mars24: landers and roversPrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  4. NASA JPL — Opportunity Hunkers Down During Dust StormPrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  5. NASA JPL — Martian Dust Storm Grows Global; Curiosity Captures Photos of Thickening HazePrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  6. NASA — NASA’s Record-Setting Opportunity Rover Mission on Mars Comes to EndPrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  7. NASA JPL — NASA’s Opportunity Rover Mission on Mars Comes to EndPrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  8. NASA Science (Photojournal) — Opportunity’s Last Message (PIA22929)Primary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  9. Newsweek — No, the Last Words of NASA’s Opportunity Rover Weren’t ‘My Battery Is Low and It’s Getting Dark’Secondary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  10. NASA JPL — NASA’s Opportunity Mars Rover Passes Marathon DistancePrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  11. NASA GISS — Mars24 Sunclock — Technical Notes on Mars Solar TimePrimary · checked Oct 4, 2026
  12. NASA Mars rover map data — Perseverance current position (waypoints file)Primary · checked Oct 4, 2026