Share

Nasa rover breaks out-of-this-world distance record

Washington - The US space agency's Opportunity rover has now clocked more miles on Mars than any man-made vehicle to reach another celestial body, Nasa said on Monday.

Since arriving on the red planet in 2004, the solar-powered robot has journeyed across 40km of Martian terrain.

That surpasses the previous record, held by the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover, which landed on the Moon in 1973.

"Opportunity has driven farther than any other wheeled vehicle on another world," said Mars Exploration Rover Project Manager John Callas of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

"This is so remarkable considering Opportunity was intended to drive about 1km and was never designed for distance."

Opportunity and its twin rover, Spirit - now defunct - discovered wet environmental conditions on ancient Mars, some of which are mild enough to have been favourable for life.

Opportunity is now exploring the Endeavour Crater on Mars.

Its next-generation robotic counterpart, the Curiosity rover, launched in 2012 and is tooling around near the Gale Crater on Mars.

Nasa said that the Soviet Union's Lunokhod 2 rover landed on Earth's moon on 15 January 1973, and drove about 39km in less than five months.

Those figures are based on calculations recently made using images from Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) cameras that reveal Lunokhod 2's tracks, the US space agency said.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.00
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
24.09
+0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.60
-0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.37
+0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.6%
Platinum
901.60
-0.1%
Palladium
998.41
-0.8%
Gold
2,153.87
-0.3%
Silver
24.93
-0.5%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,642
-0.9%
All Share
71,879
-0.8%
Resource 10
52,855
-0.9%
Industrial 25
99,386
-1.1%
Financial 15
16,545
-0.5%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders