It has been exactly one year since Opportunity sent this final message home – on the occasion of its 5th 111 Martian day

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The final message of Opportunity is not much to look at alone. If you are old enough to remember film cameras, it looks like the final exposure on a roll of film, developed but partly missing. It's an appropriate epitaph for Opportunity's mission.

Opportunity captured this image with the left half of its PanCam or panoramic camera. The mobile had at the time a sunscreen on the camera, which is why the picture is so dark. The bottom is cut because it was impossible to transmit the entire image before losing power.

It looks like the first Opportunity image taken on Mars, also taken with the left panning camera.

First picture of the opportunity of March on the floor 1 at 15:30:50 pm of March. Captured with the left panning camera. Image Credit: NASA / JPL / Cornell
First image of Opportunity since March on the ground 1 at 15 h 30 min 50 s, time of March. Captured with the left panning camera. Image Credit: NASA / JPL / Cornell

The image was captured on the 5111st Martian soil, in the Perseverance Valley. He was captured around 10:30 am Eastern Time (12:30 eastern daylight time) on June 10, 2018, a year ago today. He transmitted the image to Mars reconnaissance orbiter around 9:45, then to Earth. He arrived here at 10:05 am PDT (1:05 ​​pm EDT), where he was received by one of NASA's Deep Space stations.

NASA's Deep Space Network is responsible for communicating with Juno as part of its exploration of Jupiter. In the photo, the installation of Goldstone California, one of the three facilities making up the network. Image: NASA / JPL
NASA's deep space network is responsible for communication with the spacecraft. In the photo, the installation of Goldstone California, one of the three facilities making up the network. Image: NASA / JPL

The picture is dark because the sun was masked by the global dust storm that covered Mars at the time. The grain is the sound of the camera. The black box at the bottom represents the data that has never been received. The occasion is dead before we can send the rest.

The last image of Opportunity before the global dust storm ended the rover mission on Mars. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU

In reality, this is not the final image of Opportunity, but the final image in full screen. The mobile sent thumbnails from other images, but none of the complete images were sent before Opportunity disappeared.

Two thumbnails of the final images of Opportunity. The sun is a small point. They were taken to estimate the opacity of the atmosphere during the global dust storm. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU
Two vignettes from the final images of Opportunity. The sun is a small point. They were taken to estimate the opacity of the atmosphere during the global dust storm. Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU

During its mission on Mars, Opportunity acquired more than 228,000 images. You can see them all at NASA: All 228,771 raw images. It is however an unorganized collection.

The final picture of Opportunity from the surface of Mars is this panorama of Endeavor Crater. Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU
The last panoramic shot of opportunity from the surface of Mars is the crater Endeavor. Image: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU

For a selection gallery including the press releases that accompanied them, check out Mars Exploration Mobile Images.

To browse a collection of panoramas, visit Mars Panoramas Exploration Rovers.

RIP opportunity. Party but not forgotten.

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