Mars rover, slightly used, runs fine
When a car gets regular oil changes and care from a good mechanic, keeping it running for 10 years or more isn’t exactly an impressive feat of engineering. But then again, such a car isn’t an average 140,000,000 miles away. For the engineers behind the Mars rover Opportunity, however, the last decade has been a testament to their hard work. Originally scheduled to operate on the Red Planet’s surface for 90 Martian days, the rover now has logged more than 3,500 days, traveled nearly 39 kilometers, and collected a trove of data that scientists such as Andrew Knoll, the Fisher Professor of Natural History and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, have used to study the planet’s early history, particularly any evidence of past water. “I think it’s been one of the great space missions of all time,” Knoll said in an interview. “It’s really a tribute to good engineering. If you had...