KLEOS I

Mars Exploration Rovers · Chapter 7 of 7

Endurance and Legacy

One of us fell silent in 2010. The other continued until a planet-wide dust storm blocked the sunlight needed to power it. Our discoveries and journeys remain part of Mars exploration.

Chapter 07 / 07 · 2004–2026

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Mars Exploration Rovers by the numbers · Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Open the original infographic ↗

Spirit’s mission concludes

Spirit’s last communication was received on March 22, 2010. NASA continued trying to re-establish contact until May 25, 2011, when the mission was concluded. Spirit had worked for more than 2,200 sols and travelled 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometres).

Opportunity’s final signal

Opportunity last communicated with Earth on June 10, 2018, during a planet-wide dust storm. Dust obscured sunlight and reduced the energy reaching the rover’s solar panels. After attempts to contact the rover, NASA announced the end of the mission in February 2019.

A record passed on

Opportunity’s 28.06-mile (45.16-kilometre) drive held the off-Earth roving-distance record until October 11, 2026. NASA/JPL-Caltech reported that Perseverance had then reached 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometres), moving beyond Opportunity’s mark. The figure is a dated record snapshot, not a fixed lifetime total.

The legacy

Spirit final communicationMarch 22, 2010
Opportunity final communicationJune 10, 2018
Opportunity mission durationAbout 14 years
Opportunity distance28.06 miles (45.16 km)
Perseverance distance reported28.10 miles (45.22 km) on Oct. 11, 2026

Source: NASA mission overview and NASA/JPL-Caltech distance infographic. Narrative is presented in first person as a storytelling device; the rovers were robotic spacecraft. Mars Exploration Rovers · NASA/JPL-Caltech.