NASA Rover Finally Bites The Dust On Mars After 15 Years

(AP) MARCIA DUNN February 14 2019 CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. (AP) NASAs Opportunity the Mars rover that was built to operate for just three months but kept going and going rolling across the rocky red soil was pronounced dead Wednesday 15 years after it landed on the planet. The six-wheeled vehicle that helped gather critical evidence that ancient Mars might have been hospitable to life was remarkably spry up until eight months ago when it was finally doomed by a ferocious dust storm. Flight controllers tried numerous times to make contact and sent one final series of recovery commands Tuesday night along with one last wake-up song Billie Holidays Ill Be Seeing You" in a somber exercise that brought tears to team members eyes. There was no response from space only silence. Thomas Zurbuchen head of NASAs science missions broke the news at what amounted to a funeral at the space agencys Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California announcing the demise of our beloved Opportunity."