On May 15, 2013, which corresponds to Sol – as in Martian day – 3,309 of its mission, the Mars Rover Opportunity has set the record for the driving distance covered by a NASA vehicle on another world. The previous record belonged to the Lunar Roving Vehicle driven by astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972 with 35.744 km ((22.210 statute miles).

The Apollo 17 mission and the Mars Rover Opportunity mission are obviously totally different. The mission to the Moon lasted less than two weeks and the astronauts were on the Moon for about three days, during which the drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle directly, as if it were an ordinary car. Opportunity is continuing its mission started when it arrived on Mars on January 24, 2004 and is moving very slowly after its paths are programmed.

Currently, the Mars Rover Opportunity is in the area of ​​Endeavour crater, where it arrived almost two years ago. For a long time, its research focused on a segment called “Cape York” but a few days ago it started a journey of 2.2 km (1.4 miles) to another segment called “Solander Point”. The crater has a diameter of approximately 22 km (14 miles) and its geological features are considered very interesting so Opportunity could do research in this area as long as it works.

The Mars Rover Opportunity’s longevity is really amazing when you consider the harsh conditions of Mars. The rovers of that kind must face the cold winters of the red planet trying to capture enough solar energy to maintain a temperature sufficient to operate. This isn’t easy because the dusts on Mars tend to cover the solar panels and you have to hope that the winds can clean them enough. The Mars Rover Spirit, Opportunity’s twin, almost certainly have been the victim of a freeze that put it out of use.

The record for the distance traveled by a vehicle built by humans on another world is held by the Soviet rover Lunokhod 2, which in 1973 covered 37 km (23 miles) on the Moon. That was a radio-controlled rover as well. The journey just started by the Mars Rover Opportunity will last several weeks but in the end it will be the absolute record holder. A truly exceptional result if we think that its primary mission lasted three months!

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