The Little Rover That Just Won't Die: another record for Opportunity

[Streetwind]

Vroom vroom: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-245

Just a little footnote I found charming and thought you guys might like as well: ten year old Mars rover Opportunity has now driven a grand total of 40 kilometers of distance, allowing it to claim the all-time record for most distance driven on another celestial body. By the time it reaches its next major research location, it will have covered a full marathon distance of over 42 km. It was originally designed to drive no more than one kilometer over the course of 90 days.

[Ralathon]

Serious kudos to the engineers who designed that thing and the mission controllers who managed to keep it going. Takes some real skill to keep something alive so long in the harsh martian environment.