page_title: Timeline of Opportunity (rover)
section_title: 2018
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of Opportunity (rover) / Mission timeline / 2018
caption_attribution_description: Navigation Camera Sol 4959 of the MER-B Opportunity rover on Mars
context_page_description: Opportunity is a robotic rover that was active on the planet Mars from 2004 to 2018. Launched on July 7, 2003, Opportunity landed on Mars' Meridiani Planum on January 25, 2004 at 05:05 Ground UTC, three weeks after its twin Spirit, also part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission, touched down on the other side of the planet. While Spirit became immobile in 2009 and ceased communications in 2010, Opportunity exceeded its planned 90 sol duration of activity by 16 years, 91 days. Opportunity continued to move, gather scientific observations, and report back to Earth until 2018. What follows is a summary of events during its continuing mission.
  Opportunity started in Eagle crater in 2004, literally landing inside on the crater basin, then it travelled outward making its way to Endurance crater. After this it went to Victoria crater, all the way making many panoramas, measurements, studying rocks and smaller craters, even what are thought to be meteorites. It then traveled to Endeavour crater, where it has been making its way south along the Western rim.
context_section_description: In 2018 the rover continued to explore the area called Perseverance Valley, the feature was previously called "Gully" and it was named by rover team in early 2017.Opportunity rover reached Perseverance Valley (the gully) in 2017 and had spent the rest the year exploring this area which is on the Western rim of Endeavor Crater; in 2018 this in-depth study continued.
  The Valley may have new type of rock. Perseverance Valley is thought to be a fluid-carved channel, a spillway from the surrounding planes down to the crater floor. Among the candidates for what carved the channels are water, but also ice or wind currents. One of the ongoing questions is the idea of ancient water on Mars, and how it may have impacted the modern Mars environment. In the 2010s NASA has been on the hunt for ancient fossils left by tiny living organisms especially when they make large colonies, such as Stromatolites, which look like mushroom shaped rocks but are made by colonies of bacteria. The question of ancient bacteria on Mars was raised in the 1990s, when a scientist thought he had found microscopic bacterial fossils on a meteorite that came from Mars (see ALH84001) but was found on Earth. Future missions, such as Mars 2020, may carry more advanced chemical and geological detectors to Mars with them; some images taken by Opportunity have led to speculation about whether the images contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. One example, as reported by National Geographic, appears to show a cauliflower-shaped rock in an image taken by the Spirit rover in 2007, which, to some scientists, resembled fossils of microscopic stromatolites, which are ubiquitous on Earth, and represent the earliest widely accepted example of life in Earth's biosphere. Stromatolites, thought to be signs of some of the earliest life discovered on Earth, almost 4 billion years ago, are on Earth today. Another candidate are cynobacteria which are also determined to be among the oldest life on Earth. Because of the large impacts that eject matter into space Mars has exchanged material with over long time scales, leading some to suggest life could make the journey between Earth and Mars. Indeed cynobacteria survived for almost two-years in space (Aboard ISS) and could still come alive again when put in life conditions after being in zero-g, zero-air, high radiation conditions common to outer space. On the colonization side, cyanobacteria like nostoc colonies that have been studied for terraforming are known to survive on Mars regolith simulant and lower pressures. Some the evidence for ancient water include the discovery of minerals that form in the presence of water, such as Jarosite, discovered by Opportunity at Eagle Crater in 2004. (see also Martian spherules)
  Opportunity studied the rock target Jornada del Muerto in Perseverance Valley, using its surviving suite of instruments including the Microscopic Imager (MI), APXS, and the color cameras. At this time rocks from the Matijevic Formation have not been found, and the valley is proving to have some complicated natures One area being studied is how the dust flows through channel and makes deposits.
  On Sol 4977 (Jan. 23, 2018), the stored backup flight software was updated to the latest version. On that day electrical production was 644 watt-hours, and total distance traveled on Mars since landing was 28.02 miles (45.09 kilometers).
  On Sol 4999 (Feb. 15, 2018) MER-B took a Pancam of the Martian sunrise.
caption: MER-B NavCam image Sol 4959[190] Start of January 2018, looking along rim of Endeavour crater
exif: {}