Remember when NASA’s Opportunity landed on Mars way back when in 2004? 11 years seems like a long time ago, especially when Opportunity was originally designed to operate for just three months. But after trekking across more than 26 miles of Martian desert, the rover sent back some pretty important science (like its unearthing discovery of water).
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released an impressive time-lapse video that chronicles the entire trip, so you can feel like you traveled along for the journey, too.
The images on the left in the video were taken from the hazcam, and a map on the right shows Opportunity’s path. The audio sounds like a muffled GoPro, but the video actually does this to give an interpretation of the vibration measurements made by the rover. Soft sounds signify smooth terrain while louder noises indicate there was some off-roading going on.
Eleven years sure fly by pretty quickly in 8 minutes. Pay close attention or you’ll miss some memorable moments from trip, like when the rover investigates its own discarded heat shield or gets stuck in a sand dune for two months.
Jamie Wisniewski 