Look at that… look at that number… Sol 4999… that screen-grab was taken just a few hours ago off the official NASA MER website, and is confirmation that Opportunity is now just one day/sol away from marking her 5000th day on Mars. What an incredible achievement. And I love the “Sols past warranty” on the bottom, a reminder that the mission was originally expected/hoped to last 90 days, and has gone way, waaaaaaaaaaaaay beyind that…
So, not long until we tick over onto Sol 5000, and of course we’ll mark that here appropriately and with unashamed joyful gushing! In the meantime, here is my latest processed image showing Opportunity’s view down Perseverance Valley out onto the floor of Endeavour Crater…
And as a special Valentine’s Day treat, a few new processed crops of a HiRISE image taken on this very day three years ago, showing Opportunity from orbit. I doubt she’s anywhere near as clean and shiny today. Maybe there’ll be a new HiRISE image taken to mark Sol 5000…
Come back tomorrow to celebrate Sol 5000!
The Road To Endeavour 