For 15 years now, NASA’s Mars rover OpportunityOpens in a new tab has been exploring the uncharted regions of the red planet. But in mid-2018, we stopped receiving transmissions from the rover, and began to fear it may have been finally been gone for good. On Wednesday afternoon, NASA will announce if its final attempt to contact the rover was successful or not. It’s unlikely the space agency will hear anything back from the robot nearly 34 million miles away, and at that time they will announce the end of the mission. No one is taking it well, and we don’t just mean scientists and engineers.
Missions end all the time, but the swan song for the little machine, affectionately called “Oppy,” is hitting people around the world in a way few other robot demises do. It all has to do with the unlikely and incredible length of Opportunity’s mission and its final message.
In a fantastic Twitter thread, science reporter Jacob Margolis explained the history of Oppy’s amazing journey—which began when it landed on Mars in 2004 alongside its twin robot Spirit, whose own mission ended in 2010—and what went wrong for Opportunity on the red planet last June. (FYI: You might need a moment to gather yourself after reading the whole story.)
Sad news. Mars rover #OpportunityOpens in a new tab is probably done. Sometime tonight, a team @NASAJPLOpens in a new tab will make their final attempt to contact #OppyOpens in a new tab. If they can’t, they’ll likely call the mission. Here’s what happened… 1/ pic.twitter.com/oLgATexUHNOpens in a new tab
— Jacob Margolis (@JacobMargolis) February 12, 2019Opens in a new tab
A 90-day mission that lasted over 15 years and covered 28 miles across the beautiful barren surface of our celestial neighbor would be enough to make Oppy’s fatal dust stormOpens in a new tab ending emotional, but it’s Opportunity’s last message that has turned this goodbye into something bigger. Margolis said its final note was basically, “My battery is low and it’s getting dark.”
Yeah. Yeah.
As you can imagine, a real life Wall-E death scene has hit many hard, and they’ve taken to Twitter to bid farewell to a machine who represents so much: hard work, perseverance, hope, dreaming big, a better future beyond our own world, and how everyone and everything in the universe must one day face its own ending. Since we’re not alone in getting a little choked up over what Oppy represents, here are some of our favorite goodbyes, memorials, and hopeful messages to bid adieu to a special robot who gave more than we ever imagined.
I was fine. Then I saw this picture….
Thank you #OppyOpens in a new tab. Job well done. pic.twitter.com/nVJ5YWLq1HOpens in a new tab
— D. Willbanks (@DCWillbanks) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
The way Jacob tells this story made me choke up a little. Maybe we humanize our droids too much, but they are the little ambassadors we send out into the universe, to see things we can’t, and to send the message “for a brief moment, we were here.” So long #OppyOpens in a new tab, and thanks! https://t.co/BRcS3Ouiq8Opens in a new tab
— Thomas ? SFF180 (@SFF180) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
Shedding a small tear at my desk for #OppyOpens in a new tab today ?
I’ll never forget seeing this panorama image it took back in 2006 in the newspaper for the first time. It blew my mind then and it still does today ❤️ pic.twitter.com/W0AkjkM45WOpens in a new tab
— Becky Smethurst (@drbecky_) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
When a robot that’s worked its arse off 34 million miles away sums up the global mood back on Earth. #OppyOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/Fo9ZgkQPW7Opens in a new tab
— Luke Walker (@lukewalkerbooks) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
Hi it’s 6 am and idk why I’m crying over a robot? Farewell, #OppyOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/aCKooMBwddOpens in a new tab
— ?Kass? (@kassras322) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
Didn’t know that I could cry over a robot but here we are. You did a great job #OppyOpens in a new tab https://t.co/Ut0TsokGyIOpens in a new tab
— ac (@seoltang_yoongi) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
I never imagined I’d be sitting at my computer crying over a last message from a robot on Mars, but here I sit wiping away tears. Job well done, #OppyOpens in a new tab. https://t.co/4TOArVH62COpens in a new tab
— Jocelyn Rish (@JocelynRish) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
Good luck, @MarsRoversOpens in a new tab. You’ve been amazing. #WakeUpOppyOpens in a new tab #OppyOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/bEisqbytaGOpens in a new tab
— leavinghope_ao3 (@Leavinghope_AO3) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
In honor of #OpportunityOpens in a new tab #OppyOpens in a new tab Thank you, the rover that could. To a universe of new beginnings created by the opportunity you gave us ✨@NASAOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/Hzlh2ShgmPOpens in a new tab
— ♡ Ashley misses Ella ♡ (@IconicMisheel) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
I made this like a decade ago. #OppyOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/Njo37ozBLeOpens in a new tab
— Jefferson Ornithopter (@TimInTheIce) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
It’s only a matter of time before we go pick #oppyOpens in a new tab up and put her in a prime spot in the very first Martian museum.
I think she deserves it, after working hard for over 55 times its designed lifespan.
Goodnight little rover, and see you soon. #goodnightoppyOpens in a new tab @MarsRoversOpens in a new tab https://t.co/9AklAFu2TqOpens in a new tab— Thomas Seymat (@tseymat) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
This cannot be easy for the people involved, and it’s clearly emotional for everyone from scientists to enthusiasts who have followed #OppyOpens in a new tab‘s journey, but to be honest whatever happens, I want to think of it from the perspective of all the joy and discovery the mission gave us ❤ https://t.co/ps6SHAPNJVOpens in a new tab
— Rose DF (@_Astro_Nerd_) February 12, 2019Opens in a new tab
Although I still have a hope, I go to sleep tonight with the realization that we’re probably saying goodbye to my all-time favourite robot.
Not ashamed to say that makes me very sad.
I want to send a new rover to Endeavour Crater, to fix #OppyOpens in a new tab and help carry on its mission. pic.twitter.com/MbYP2x25kdOpens in a new tab— Scott Sutherland (?️?️????️) (@ScottWx_TWN) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
I’m literally sitting here crying over a fucking robot who is lost on Mars what is wrong with me lmfao #OppyOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/feKXskaQoBOpens in a new tab
— WitchyTwitchy Ⓥ (@witchytwitchytv) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.Projected mission lifespan: 90 days.
Achieved lifespan: 15 years.You had a good innings, #OppyOpens in a new tab#OppyPhoneHomeOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/1OwzNNrE9oOpens in a new tab
— Dan Mason (@ArcDan_) February 13, 2019Opens in a new tab
Farewell Opportunity. Your mission might be over, but we won’t forget what you did.
Featured Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech