Tag Archives: End of Mission

Opportunity Mars Rover Mission Ends

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The historic Opportunity Mars rover mission has come to an end. Opportunity last communicated with Earth on June 10, 2018 after a planet-wide dust storm covered the rover’s solar panels, denying power to the rover. After 800+ attempts to contact @MarsRovers Opportunity, today we’re announcing the end of a successful Martian mission. Intended to explore the Red Planet for 90 days, Oppy outlived its mission lifetime by 14+ years. Join us live now: https://t.co/zJwTTpQNwp #ThanksOppy pic.twitter.com/U4J26TfzDv — Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) February 13, 2019 Opportunity had a twin: the Spirit rover; their mission was to search of answers about the history of water on Mars – and boy did they find some interesting things! This video is a fantastic (and short) retrospective of the Spirit and Opportunity rover missions: Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004 – in quite spectacular fashion! Spirit and Opportunity were designed for a 90-day mission; Opportunity lasted for over 14 years! I don’t want to … Continue reading →

Kepler Space Telescope End of Mission

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After nine years in deep space collecting data that indicate our sky to be filled with billions of hidden planets – more planets even than stars – NASA’s Kepler space telescope has run out of fuel needed for further science operations. NASA has decided to retire the spacecraft within its current, safe orbit, away from Earth. Kepler leaves a legacy of more than 2,600 planet discoveries from outside our solar system, many of which could be promising places for life. “As NASA’s first planet-hunting mission, Kepler has wildly exceeded all our expectations and paved the way for our exploration and search for life in the solar system and beyond,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “Not only did it show us how many planets could be out there, it sparked an entirely new and robust field of research that has taken the science community by storm. Its discoveries have shed a new light on … Continue reading →

A Heartfelt Farewell to NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn

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The Cassini mission to Saturn ranks right at the top of my list of favorite space missions; this morning, on NASA TV, I watched Cassini’s final moments as it plunged into the atmosphere of Saturn… and I had a good cry. It’s an odd juxtaposition of feelings: being overjoyed and incredibly sad at the same time. When Cassini launched in 1997, my daughters were aged 12 and 9; my wife likes to recall the story of my phoning my eldest in 2004, then in college, to tell her that Cassini was making its orbital insertion burn! She also claims that I can be “such a geek.” Yesterday, I heard a story on NPR with a NASA engineer that was at the very first Cassini planning meeting – 30 years ago! For several people, this mission has been their entire career! In an interview I heard this morning, one mission specialist said that most of what’s in recent science textbooks about … Continue reading →

Cassini’s Final Months at Saturn

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NASA’s Cassini mission to Saturn is in its final months. The spacecraft has been put into a polar orbit which brings it over Saturn’s poles, and very close to the main rings. Cassini has sent back spectacular views of  Saturn’s north polar region shortly before it made its first close pass by the outer edge of Saturn’s main rings. In late April, Cassini will again change its orbit, bringing the spacecraft between Saturn’s innermost ring, and its cloudtops. These orbits send tingles through my spine when I think about them; there is a chance that a ring particle might impact the spacecraft, rendering it nonfunctional. According to NASA Eyes on the Solar System, when Cassini passes through the ring plane from now through April, it will be travelling at 21 km/sec. When it changes orbit in late April, and gets closer to Saturn, it will be passing over the cloudtops at about 34 km/sec. If Cassini survives all its passes … Continue reading →

MESSENGER Mission at Mercury Comes to an End

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  The MESSENGER mission at Mercury has come to a close, with the spacecraft running out of fuel, and impacting the surface of Mercury around 3:26 pm EDT on April 30, 2015. I was following @MESSENGER2011 on Twitter as the impact time drew near – it was heartbreaking. MESSENGER by the numbers. pic.twitter.com/7BsMMs0z6v — MESSENGER (@MESSENGER2011) April 30, 2015 Story source and tribute video credit: Bill Dunford: The robotic spacecraft MESSENGER has run out of fuel. With no way to make major adjustments to its orbit around the planet Mercury, the probe will smash into the surface at more than 8,750 miles per hour (3.91 kilometers per second). The impact will add a new crater to the planet’s scarred face that engineers estimate will be as wide as 52 feet (16 meters). The end is likely to come at about 3:30 p.m. EDT on April 30, 2015. None of this is a surprise to MESSENGER’s handlers on Earth, who have … Continue reading →