Opportunity Mars-long gone to an unprecedented two-year transition

After five years of work on the Red planet Mars Opportunity left Victoria Crater, to perform the longest in the history of space travel on the ground. Cross-country vehicle that runs on Mars since January 2004, should reach the crater Endeavor. By earthly standards, the distance is small - just 13 kilometers InoPressa said, referring to The Guardian.

Opportunity in early September, has completed a study in the Victoria crater, after which successfully came to the surface. Endeavor crater is 22 km in diameter and is 20 times more than Victoria. Its floor is actually open the geological record of Mars, and, as expected by experts, contain significantly more information. Notably, since landing on Mars Opportunity total mileage is about 12 km. That is now space traveler to travel as much as he traveled all over the previous time. On the day of Opportunity will be able to cope with about 100 meters. Accordingly, the journey to Mars crater Endeavor will take at least two years.

Notably, the project lifetime probes Opportunity and Spirit, operating on Mars, is only three months. Nevertheless, soon will be 5 years from the date of their arrival at the planet, but they continue to operate. The cause of "longevity" of robots see, inter alia and in a strong wind, which is constantly raging on the Red planet: it cleans the dust from the solar panels.

In the five years of work vehicles transferred to the Earth more than 250 thousand pictures. The data confirmed what was first established as a result of the expedition of 1976, when the Red Planet landed two American apparatus Viking: living on Mars not.

For all the time with robots occurred just one major problem - a probe Spirit jammed wheel. But failure is not only not prevented him from functioning, but also allowed to make a major discovery: the slot, which he has a broken wheel, was found out very pure silicon species, the remainder of the ancient hot springs. This discovery became the main evidence that billions of years ago, Mars was suitable for the existence of living beings: it was water and a powerful atmosphere.

Therefore, current research the Red Planet aimed at finding remnants of primitive life forms and to establish the causes of the accident, which Mars has been unfit for habitation, said The Guardian.

Preparations are under way for the ambitious project Mars Science Laboratory, in which to Mars plan to send a larger probe. With all kinds of sensors and equipment for the drilling apparatus to reach the surface of the planet in 2012. In the long term, scientists are going to run the Red Planet device capable of returning to Earth with samples of Martian soil.