back to article Marathon race ace FOUND ON MARS – NASA boffins overjoyed

NASA celebrated a milestone in space exploration on Tuesday when the Opportunity Mars rover's odometer clicked past 26.219 miles (42.195 kilometres) – marking the first time a man-made object has completed a marathon's distance on the surface of another planet. "This mission isn't about setting distance records, of course; it' …

  1. imanidiot Silver badge

    Congrats to the engineers and drivers

    No matter how you look at it, this is quite an achievement.

    1. JCitizen
      Pint

      Re: Congrats to the engineers and drivers

      Yes! Drinks all around for the boffins who done it! >hic<

  2. JimC

    It is a great achievement, but is salutary to think how little one would learn about the earth with a 26 mile trek. There's a very long way to go.

    1. Steven Roper

      Given that the Earth is rather larger than Mars, a quick desktop calculation shows that 26 miles is 1/819 of the way around Mars' circumference. Plugging that back into Earth's circumference means the equivalent coverage of Earth is about 48.9 miles. Still only a tiny percentage though!

  3. ACcc

    I hope the engineers who built and designed those things

    Feel rightfully proud of what they have achieved, not least in comparison to the original mission parameters (and how far away they are now!)

  4. Van

    Roughly 35 million dollars per mile

    It amazes me how they drastically underestimated its life. I would have insisted on robotic brush to clean the solar panels though.

    1. Steven Roper

      Roughly 35 million dollars per mile

      So, about the same mileage costs as your average American SUV then.

    2. flyguy

      Good value for money...

      Considering the M74 extension in Glasgow cost around £138m per mile....

    3. cray74

      "It amazes me how they drastically underestimated its life. I would have insisted on robotic brush to clean the solar panels though."

      After the experience with the Sojourner rover it was deemed lighter to give Opportunity and Spirit larger solar panels than to add a brush. However, multi-year lifespans were probably not anticipated.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ROTM: little blighters can even run a marathon faster than me

    And it's arguably better looking too. My only hope is that (like the Culture Minds) the machines keep around because the random crap I do is kind of cute.

  6. stucs201

    Obligatory xkcd

    https://xkcd.com/695/

    (yeah, I know that was the other rover).

    1. richardcox13

      Re: Obligatory xkcd

      http://xkcd.com/1504/

      This time it is Opportunity.

  7. TeeCee Gold badge
    Happy

    eleven years and a little over two weeks to make the distance

    Now that may not sound very fast for a marathon, but you have to remember that on Mars that's a New World Record!!11!!

    1. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge
      Happy

      "New MARS record", or alternatively "new new-world record"

      Great achievement, by any name

  8. asdf
    Joke

    I keed

    >The rover's flash memory is failing,

    Let me guess OCZ?

  9. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Achievement unlocked!

    Well done to all involved.

    Science is awesome.

  10. Herby

    JPL Marathon relay??

    I don't know about how it will turn out, but they need to relay, given their (sedentary) lifestyle. Just watch an episode of _The Big Bank Theory_ (a documentary) and imagine the characters running even a mile. Just doesn't compute.

    p.s. My brother-in-law does need the exercise but has a bad knee (sorry Wayne!).

    1. hplasm
      Happy

      Re: JPL Marathon relay??

      _The Big Bank Theory_

      Isn't that a documentary about the birth of the Monopolyverse?

  11. LucreLout
    Pint

    Outstanding...

    Well done to all involved. Virtual beer over there for you -->

    The next rover, however, is likely to be considerably improved, given what we now know about Mars thanks to these two.

    When designing equipment for 90 days use, you don't need to know how long the components will last, you're just trying to keep the solar panels clean. Now that challenge is met, thanks to martian wind, I bet those same engineers could build a rover capable of circum navigating the planet, and I for one, would pay to make that happen. Over to you NASA; if you want to appeal internationally for funding, I'm in, and so is my wife.

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: Outstanding...

      "The next rover, however, is likely to be considerably improved, given what we now know about Mars thanks to these two."

      I'm curious about what made you say that although personally I'd like to see a nuclear powered tank armed with laser, drills and robotic arms, assuming no one has already done that.

  12. Phuq Witt
    Coat

    Marathon Broken on Mars. World Goes Astro-Nuts!

    You see the kind of pants-wetting punstership we could have had, if only they hadn't meddled with that bloody 'Snickers' renaming thing.

    [Shakes fist!]

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