1 00:00:23,232 --> 00:00:25,234 (wind whistling softly) 2 00:00:29,697 --> 00:00:31,699 ♪ ♪ 3 00:00:36,036 --> 00:00:38,038 (wind howling) 4 00:00:50,259 --> 00:00:53,512 STEVE SQUYRES: At the beginning, there's nothing. 5 00:00:55,973 --> 00:01:01,145 There's no concept of a robot explorer 6 00:01:01,228 --> 00:01:03,898 crawling across the surface of another world. 7 00:01:08,611 --> 00:01:13,616 And then, gradually, you start to think. 8 00:01:13,699 --> 00:01:15,785 You start to act. 9 00:01:15,868 --> 00:01:17,578 We just start to build. 10 00:01:20,372 --> 00:01:23,083 And those machines come to life. 11 00:01:23,167 --> 00:01:25,169 ♪ ♪ 12 00:01:48,275 --> 00:01:50,277 ♪ ♪ 13 00:02:04,166 --> 00:02:06,168 ♪ ♪ 14 00:02:13,592 --> 00:02:16,011 BEKAH SOSLAND SIEGFRIEDT: A lot of people out there would say, 15 00:02:16,095 --> 00:02:18,097 "Oh, they're just robots." 16 00:02:18,180 --> 00:02:19,723 (beeping, whirring) 17 00:02:19,807 --> 00:02:22,184 But once we turned them on for the first time, 18 00:02:22,268 --> 00:02:26,480 they became so much more than just robots on another planet. 19 00:02:41,787 --> 00:02:43,789 ("Roam" by The B-52's playing) 20 00:02:45,833 --> 00:02:47,459 (electronic trilling) 21 00:02:49,128 --> 00:02:51,714 ♪ Boy, mercury ♪ 22 00:02:51,797 --> 00:02:55,801 ♪ Shooting through every degree ♪ 23 00:02:55,885 --> 00:02:59,179 ♪ Oh, girl dancing down those dirty ♪ 24 00:02:59,263 --> 00:03:03,350 ♪ And dusty trails ♪ 25 00:03:03,434 --> 00:03:06,687 (over speaker): ♪ Roam if you want to ♪ 26 00:03:06,770 --> 00:03:10,149 ♪ Roam around the world ♪ 27 00:03:10,232 --> 00:03:13,736 ♪ Roam if you want to ♪ 28 00:03:13,819 --> 00:03:17,323 ♪ Without wings, without wheels ♪ 29 00:03:17,406 --> 00:03:20,159 ♪ Roam if you want to... ♪ 30 00:03:20,242 --> 00:03:22,453 KOBIE BOYKINS: Once the rover's on Mars, 31 00:03:22,536 --> 00:03:25,080 it has its own life. 32 00:03:25,164 --> 00:03:27,708 There's energy pulsing through its veins. 33 00:03:28,918 --> 00:03:31,879 And it needs to be given love. 34 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,924 ("Roam" continues) 35 00:03:35,007 --> 00:03:38,010 ASHLEY STROUPE: And so we try and keep her as safe as possible... 36 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:43,432 ...but sometimes she has a mind of her own. 37 00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:01,659 ♪ Take it hip to hip ♪ 38 00:04:01,742 --> 00:04:07,247 ♪ Rocket through the wilderness ♪ 39 00:04:07,331 --> 00:04:09,124 ♪ Around the world... ♪ 40 00:04:09,208 --> 00:04:11,710 DOUG ELLISON: And so, yeah, it's only a robot. 41 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,757 But through this robot, we are on this incredible adventure together. 42 00:04:18,217 --> 00:04:21,512 And she becomes a family member. 43 00:04:21,595 --> 00:04:24,848 ♪ Roam if you want to ♪ 44 00:04:24,932 --> 00:04:30,104 ♪ Without anything but the love we feel. ♪ 45 00:04:30,187 --> 00:04:33,399 -(clicking, whirring) -(rumbling) 46 00:04:33,482 --> 00:04:35,484 (buzzing) 47 00:04:35,567 --> 00:04:37,569 (song fades) 48 00:04:38,821 --> 00:04:40,823 (wind howling) 49 00:04:44,201 --> 00:04:46,578 ♪ ♪ 50 00:05:12,813 --> 00:05:14,815 ♪ ♪ 51 00:05:44,094 --> 00:05:47,806 JENNIFER TROSPER: Something I think we all wonder about 52 00:05:47,890 --> 00:05:50,017 as we look up into the night sky... 53 00:05:52,019 --> 00:05:55,647 ...is if we're really alone in this universe. 54 00:05:57,483 --> 00:05:59,651 And trying to understand that 55 00:05:59,735 --> 00:06:02,196 is one of the great mysteries that we have. 56 00:06:05,115 --> 00:06:07,409 ROB MANNING: Over the centuries, 57 00:06:07,493 --> 00:06:10,662 Mars has been this enigmatic 58 00:06:10,746 --> 00:06:13,165 little red dot in the sky. 59 00:06:15,334 --> 00:06:18,212 It invigorated imaginations of millions of people. 60 00:06:21,465 --> 00:06:24,468 What could be going on in that distant land? 61 00:06:28,097 --> 00:06:31,600 STROUPE: The overall goal of the whole Mars program 62 00:06:31,683 --> 00:06:36,271 has been the question of: Did Mars ever actually have life? 63 00:06:36,355 --> 00:06:39,274 So, especially early on in the Mars missions, 64 00:06:39,358 --> 00:06:40,776 we were following the water. 65 00:06:42,986 --> 00:06:46,949 That's because, at least on Earth, everywhere that we find water... 66 00:06:49,243 --> 00:06:50,911 ...there's life. 67 00:06:52,830 --> 00:06:54,832 (screeching) 68 00:06:57,251 --> 00:06:59,795 And so the question is: 69 00:06:59,878 --> 00:07:02,172 Was there water on Mars? 70 00:07:02,256 --> 00:07:04,883 And what kind of water? 71 00:07:04,967 --> 00:07:08,137 And could that have helped sustain life? 72 00:07:12,391 --> 00:07:15,144 MANNING: So, in the mid '70s, the two Viking missions 73 00:07:15,227 --> 00:07:18,147 were kind of the epitome of exploration at the time. 74 00:07:19,231 --> 00:07:21,984 NASA sent two orbiters and two landers, 75 00:07:22,067 --> 00:07:25,863 which would give us a whole new perspective on Mars. 76 00:07:29,533 --> 00:07:31,118 SQUYRES: Uh-huh. 77 00:07:31,201 --> 00:07:33,245 Ah... 78 00:07:35,706 --> 00:07:37,166 Wow. 79 00:07:37,249 --> 00:07:38,917 Yeah, there's the good one. 80 00:07:40,752 --> 00:07:42,296 Wow. 81 00:07:42,379 --> 00:07:44,548 (exhales, chuckles) 82 00:07:48,844 --> 00:07:50,846 It's funny to have such intense memories 83 00:07:50,929 --> 00:07:53,140 associated with a bunch of 40-year-old pixels. 84 00:07:53,223 --> 00:07:55,225 (laughs) 85 00:07:55,309 --> 00:07:57,186 But I do, man. 86 00:07:57,269 --> 00:07:59,605 I remember the very first time I saw it. 87 00:07:59,688 --> 00:08:01,690 ♪ ♪ 88 00:08:04,067 --> 00:08:09,198 At the time of the Viking mission, I was a bang-it-with-a-hammer geologist. 89 00:08:09,281 --> 00:08:12,784 I would go out in the field, and I would do geologic fieldwork. 90 00:08:14,286 --> 00:08:16,705 Fascinating science, 91 00:08:16,788 --> 00:08:20,083 but what I found disappointing about it 92 00:08:20,167 --> 00:08:22,961 was that there weren't new places to discover. 93 00:08:25,714 --> 00:08:28,550 But then I started working with the images 94 00:08:28,634 --> 00:08:31,803 from the Viking orbiters, and I would look down 95 00:08:31,887 --> 00:08:34,306 on Mars using these pictures... 96 00:08:35,933 --> 00:08:38,936 ...and I had no idea what I was looking at, 97 00:08:39,019 --> 00:08:41,355 but the beauty of it was nobody did. 98 00:08:44,274 --> 00:08:47,069 This was seeing stuff nobody had ever seen before. 99 00:08:49,071 --> 00:08:51,907 And I knew that I was gonna do space exploration. 100 00:08:54,201 --> 00:08:57,579 MANNING: The two Viking orbiters, as they looked down on Mars, they saw... 101 00:08:57,663 --> 00:08:59,665 You know, that's strange. 102 00:08:59,748 --> 00:09:03,043 There could be signs of past water flowing. 103 00:09:04,503 --> 00:09:07,089 Was Mars once a green world 104 00:09:07,172 --> 00:09:10,050 with living things and-and blue oceans? 105 00:09:12,594 --> 00:09:14,763 SQUYRES: We'd go there ourselves if we could. 106 00:09:15,806 --> 00:09:17,808 But we can't. 107 00:09:17,891 --> 00:09:21,436 And I just knew from my training as a geologist 108 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,732 that if we could get a rover down on the Martian surface 109 00:09:25,816 --> 00:09:28,110 and it could move around and travel 110 00:09:28,193 --> 00:09:30,696 and actually look close up at the rocks, 111 00:09:30,779 --> 00:09:34,741 we might find out the truth about Martian history. 112 00:09:38,620 --> 00:09:41,707 And so, starting in the mid '80s, 113 00:09:41,790 --> 00:09:45,377 I'd spent ten years writing proposals to NASA, 114 00:09:45,460 --> 00:09:47,754 but the proposals all failed. (laughs) 115 00:09:49,172 --> 00:09:51,591 And I was facing the unpleasant possibility 116 00:09:51,675 --> 00:09:54,511 that I had just wasted an entire decade of my career 117 00:09:54,594 --> 00:09:56,179 with nothing to show for it. 118 00:09:56,263 --> 00:09:58,098 ♪ ♪ 119 00:09:58,181 --> 00:10:01,852 MANNING: But then we pulled a team together at JPL. 120 00:10:01,935 --> 00:10:06,315 Could we actually put the rover that Steve Squyres imagined 121 00:10:06,398 --> 00:10:10,652 and use this landing system that we already designed? 122 00:10:12,112 --> 00:10:14,364 So we produced a proposal 123 00:10:14,448 --> 00:10:17,326 and presented that to NASA. 124 00:10:18,493 --> 00:10:21,663 SQUYRES: And we finally get the phone call... 125 00:10:22,956 --> 00:10:25,500 ...that made our dream come true. 126 00:10:25,584 --> 00:10:28,754 Well, I am indeed very, very happy that we're able to announce 127 00:10:28,837 --> 00:10:33,925 that we are returning to Mars-- this time in force-- with twins. 128 00:10:34,009 --> 00:10:36,136 The Mars twin rovers. 129 00:10:36,219 --> 00:10:39,723 SQUYRES: We named 'em Spirit and Opportunity. 130 00:10:39,806 --> 00:10:43,101 This was ten years of writing proposals 131 00:10:43,185 --> 00:10:46,855 that finally produced the result that I'd been dreaming of. 132 00:10:47,898 --> 00:10:52,361 But I think, if I had known at that time 133 00:10:52,444 --> 00:10:56,073 what an arduous path it was going to be from that point 134 00:10:56,156 --> 00:10:57,949 to actually get onto the surface of Mars, 135 00:10:58,033 --> 00:11:00,744 I wouldn't have felt quite as elated as I did. 136 00:11:00,827 --> 00:11:03,372 (indistinct chatter) 137 00:11:06,375 --> 00:11:09,086 MAN: If we could take our seat, I'd like to get started. 138 00:11:09,169 --> 00:11:12,672 TROSPER: Okay, I'm up here as the project engineer 139 00:11:12,756 --> 00:11:15,509 in order to make sure that the big picture fits together 140 00:11:15,592 --> 00:11:17,844 between the flight system and mission system. 141 00:11:17,928 --> 00:11:20,555 I'll briefly go over launch, cruise and EDL. 142 00:11:20,639 --> 00:11:26,061 Our whole objective was to build two autonomous 143 00:11:26,144 --> 00:11:30,148 solar-powered rovers that could survive 90 sols, 144 00:11:30,232 --> 00:11:32,109 three months on Mars. 145 00:11:33,360 --> 00:11:36,947 And we were really hoping that at least one of them would work. 146 00:11:38,198 --> 00:11:43,412 But we knew that if we don't get it right we're gonna miss our launch date. 147 00:11:44,913 --> 00:11:47,207 SQUYRES: Schedule for mission to Mars 148 00:11:47,290 --> 00:11:50,293 is literally driven by the alignment of the planets, 149 00:11:50,377 --> 00:11:54,214 and if you miss that launch window, the next one comes around... 150 00:11:55,298 --> 00:11:57,092 ...26 months later. 151 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,848 MANNING: That's no time to design, develop and test two rovers 152 00:12:02,931 --> 00:12:04,933 and put them on two rockets. 153 00:12:06,184 --> 00:12:09,396 And the pressure on the team is really phenomenal. 154 00:12:09,479 --> 00:12:12,899 So we had to come up with an amazing team 155 00:12:12,983 --> 00:12:15,819 working around the clock to pull it off. 156 00:12:19,448 --> 00:12:22,075 BOYKINS: From a young age, I was into Star Trek. 157 00:12:23,285 --> 00:12:25,287 I wanted to be Geordi La Forge. 158 00:12:25,370 --> 00:12:26,663 Engineering, this is La Forge. 159 00:12:26,746 --> 00:12:28,748 Shut down power to all transporters. I'm on my way. 160 00:12:28,832 --> 00:12:30,542 BOYKINS: But I didn't really know what that job was. 161 00:12:30,625 --> 00:12:33,545 You know, I knew they were the "engineer," but I didn't know what that was. 162 00:12:34,629 --> 00:12:38,425 I just knew that I wanted to be the person that always fixed things. 163 00:12:41,219 --> 00:12:45,891 Building Spirit and Opportunity really started on just a whiteboard. 164 00:12:47,726 --> 00:12:50,687 Okay, we want to have a 90-day mission, 165 00:12:50,770 --> 00:12:53,857 and we want to find evidence of past water. 166 00:12:53,940 --> 00:12:56,067 Okay, what do we need to do that? 167 00:12:56,151 --> 00:12:59,029 And then this team of different engineers 168 00:12:59,112 --> 00:13:02,657 has to bring that rover to life. 169 00:13:06,244 --> 00:13:08,872 ASHITEY TREBI-OLLENNU: This was my first mission. 170 00:13:08,955 --> 00:13:11,458 And it was very exciting, you know, 171 00:13:11,541 --> 00:13:14,419 doing something that no one has done before. 172 00:13:14,503 --> 00:13:19,925 I grew up in Ghana, and when I was a kid, I was very fascinated by radio. 173 00:13:20,008 --> 00:13:24,513 And I also was curious-- are there people inside the radio? 174 00:13:24,596 --> 00:13:26,723 So, one day, I opened a radio, and I was disappointed 175 00:13:26,806 --> 00:13:28,808 to find there were no people in the radio. 176 00:13:29,100 --> 00:13:31,144 So that's my fascination with engineering. 177 00:13:32,979 --> 00:13:35,482 BOYKINS: For the rover design... 178 00:13:36,566 --> 00:13:40,737 ...it was a deliberate decision to make the characteristics humanlike. 179 00:13:44,574 --> 00:13:46,284 TREBI-OLLENNU: When you're a geologist 180 00:13:46,368 --> 00:13:48,662 and you're working in the field, you typically take the rock 181 00:13:48,745 --> 00:13:50,789 and then break it up to look inside of it. 182 00:13:52,374 --> 00:13:55,001 So the robot needs the robotic arm 183 00:13:55,085 --> 00:14:00,423 that has multiple instruments to take measurements and microscopic images. 184 00:14:01,424 --> 00:14:03,260 Like a Swiss Army knife. 185 00:14:07,973 --> 00:14:10,517 SQUYRES: Now, the resolution of the rovers' cameras is 186 00:14:10,600 --> 00:14:12,811 the exact equivalent of human 20/20 vision. 187 00:14:15,146 --> 00:14:18,775 So, all of a sudden, they start to look an awful lot like eyeballs. 188 00:14:21,695 --> 00:14:24,781 BOYKINS: And then the height of the rover was five foot two. 189 00:14:24,864 --> 00:14:27,075 That's the average height of a human being. 190 00:14:30,287 --> 00:14:33,707 So it would feel like, as the rover was driving, taking these images, 191 00:14:33,790 --> 00:14:36,001 that a human being was walking along the surface. 192 00:14:39,963 --> 00:14:42,090 ELLISON: It's just a box of wires, right? 193 00:14:44,050 --> 00:14:46,052 But you end up with this 194 00:14:46,136 --> 00:14:50,140 cute-ish-looking robot that has a face. 195 00:14:52,601 --> 00:14:56,646 TROSPER: So we had these amazing science instruments, 196 00:14:56,730 --> 00:14:59,649 but once you put all that stuff on the rover, 197 00:14:59,733 --> 00:15:01,109 the mass gets bigger. 198 00:15:03,111 --> 00:15:07,032 Then this is gonna be a big problem for landing on Mars. 199 00:15:07,115 --> 00:15:09,451 But then what I'm trying to look at is actually literally using 200 00:15:09,534 --> 00:15:13,079 six little bungee cords attached here to airbags. 201 00:15:13,163 --> 00:15:16,082 And the challenge here is that there's a lot of different ways to do this. 202 00:15:16,166 --> 00:15:18,043 A lot of different ways to do this. 203 00:15:18,126 --> 00:15:21,546 We don't know which one is the best, and we really only get one shot at it. 204 00:15:21,630 --> 00:15:23,798 TROSPER: So our landing system 205 00:15:23,882 --> 00:15:27,385 had these big airbags that inflated. 206 00:15:27,469 --> 00:15:29,846 And they would bounce it across the surface. 207 00:15:31,014 --> 00:15:33,099 MANNING: The biggest problem right off the bat-- 208 00:15:33,183 --> 00:15:35,602 we started doing the math for how much the Spirit and Opportunity 209 00:15:35,685 --> 00:15:37,812 were going to weigh, 210 00:15:37,896 --> 00:15:40,148 and will those airbags be able to handle that weight? 211 00:15:43,109 --> 00:15:45,111 So we started doing tests. 212 00:15:45,195 --> 00:15:47,489 -What the...? -This is just dandy. 213 00:15:47,572 --> 00:15:49,616 -This is not a problem. Yeah. -No, this is a... this is a good rock. 214 00:15:49,699 --> 00:15:51,910 -I like this rock. -Yes. 215 00:15:51,993 --> 00:15:54,037 TROSPER: And so we were trying out the airbags 216 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,248 with the types of rocks we could encounter on Mars. 217 00:15:57,332 --> 00:15:59,042 We do the first big drop. 218 00:16:01,294 --> 00:16:04,005 (laughing): Huge gaping holes in these airbags 219 00:16:04,089 --> 00:16:08,301 get ripped by the rocks, and we're like, "Oh, this is not good. 220 00:16:08,385 --> 00:16:09,928 Not good at all." 221 00:16:10,929 --> 00:16:13,556 MANNING: The parachutes were another story altogether. 222 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:16,059 MAN (over speaker): Three, two, one. 223 00:16:16,142 --> 00:16:20,063 MANNING: But we did those tests with this big rocket-shaped payload 224 00:16:20,146 --> 00:16:22,732 and dropped it out of the sky from a helicopter. 225 00:16:22,816 --> 00:16:26,736 First one, the parachute tore to shreds. 226 00:16:26,820 --> 00:16:28,905 (helicopter blades whirring) 227 00:16:29,989 --> 00:16:31,700 The second one... 228 00:16:31,783 --> 00:16:33,243 MAN: Oh! 229 00:16:33,326 --> 00:16:34,744 MANNING: ...was torn to shreds. 230 00:16:36,454 --> 00:16:39,457 And so we realized we didn't have a working parachute. 231 00:16:39,541 --> 00:16:43,336 Unfortunately, that chute that just exploded was the chute 232 00:16:43,420 --> 00:16:45,880 that we were planning on taking to Mars. 233 00:16:45,964 --> 00:16:49,384 Cut to the quick. You're in very, very serious trouble. 234 00:16:49,467 --> 00:16:52,095 What part of this gives you gas? 235 00:16:52,178 --> 00:16:53,596 Where are you concerned? 236 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:56,599 PETE THEISINGER: There's a list of threats that these guys have come to me with, 237 00:16:56,683 --> 00:16:59,018 and I've added all those threats up. 238 00:16:59,102 --> 00:17:02,939 They go in the category of everything we can think of that can go wrong. 239 00:17:03,022 --> 00:17:04,441 I understand your concern... 240 00:17:04,524 --> 00:17:06,359 TROSPER: In the back of your mind, you're like, 241 00:17:06,443 --> 00:17:09,612 "This is a billion-dollar national asset. 242 00:17:09,696 --> 00:17:11,990 This could be a complete disaster." 243 00:17:17,203 --> 00:17:18,997 (machine whirring) 244 00:17:20,373 --> 00:17:22,500 MAN (over speaker): Okay, we're ready. 245 00:17:22,584 --> 00:17:24,085 Here we go. 246 00:17:24,169 --> 00:17:26,171 (vibrating, rattling) 247 00:17:33,178 --> 00:17:35,972 SQUYRES: So we built Spirit and Opportunity 248 00:17:36,055 --> 00:17:39,309 with the intention of them being identical twins. 249 00:17:40,810 --> 00:17:42,771 (laughing): And they kind of started out that way, 250 00:17:42,854 --> 00:17:45,273 but things diverged quickly. 251 00:17:50,779 --> 00:17:52,697 -(vibrating and rattling stop) -MAN: Okay, we're all clear. 252 00:17:52,781 --> 00:17:55,158 ELLISON: All the way through assembly and testing, 253 00:17:55,241 --> 00:17:56,826 it was always Spirit 254 00:17:56,910 --> 00:17:59,412 hitting some sort of test first and she would fail. 255 00:17:59,496 --> 00:18:00,663 (indistinct chatter) 256 00:18:00,747 --> 00:18:03,875 -We lost a bushing. -We lost a bushing? 257 00:18:03,958 --> 00:18:06,503 Look on… look on the deck. 258 00:18:06,586 --> 00:18:09,714 ELLISON: And along comes Opportunity. 259 00:18:09,798 --> 00:18:11,424 (laughing): Everybody... Okay. 260 00:18:12,509 --> 00:18:15,053 Three, two, one. 261 00:18:15,136 --> 00:18:16,471 -(whirring) -MAN: Oh. 262 00:18:16,554 --> 00:18:18,473 MAN 2: Ah! 263 00:18:18,556 --> 00:18:20,517 -Thank you. -(man whistles) 264 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,478 ELLISON: And on every test, Opportunity came through with flying colors. 265 00:18:25,104 --> 00:18:29,192 So, even before they left this planet, Spirit was troublesome, 266 00:18:29,275 --> 00:18:31,277 Opportunity was Little Miss Perfect. 267 00:18:35,156 --> 00:18:39,410 BOYKINS: So, after so much time testing and building our rovers... 268 00:18:40,954 --> 00:18:44,082 ...now it's time to put Oppy on the ground. 269 00:18:44,165 --> 00:18:46,167 ♪ ♪ 270 00:18:47,585 --> 00:18:50,088 This is the very first time 271 00:18:50,171 --> 00:18:52,632 we breathe life into the rover. 272 00:18:53,716 --> 00:18:55,260 Move. 273 00:19:01,808 --> 00:19:03,434 Her first steps. 274 00:19:05,436 --> 00:19:07,438 I'm getting tingly. 275 00:19:07,522 --> 00:19:10,233 'Cause it was like... (gasps) "It's alive!" 276 00:19:10,316 --> 00:19:12,318 (applause) 277 00:19:15,488 --> 00:19:19,033 SQUYRES: She becomes almost like a living thing to you. 278 00:19:21,035 --> 00:19:25,373 A real living robot that you can imagine going to Mars 279 00:19:25,456 --> 00:19:28,293 and doing the things that you've dreamed of doing there. 280 00:19:30,295 --> 00:19:33,172 To say it's like a child being born would be to trivialize parenthood, 281 00:19:33,256 --> 00:19:35,174 but it feels sort of like that. 282 00:19:38,469 --> 00:19:41,723 MANNING: But you feel like it's not clear 283 00:19:41,806 --> 00:19:45,894 your child is really ready for this wild and woolly world. 284 00:19:47,645 --> 00:19:50,481 SQUYRES: Had we done all the testing we wanted to do? 285 00:19:51,941 --> 00:19:53,610 Absolutely not. 286 00:19:56,362 --> 00:19:58,531 But eventually, you just run out of time. 287 00:19:59,616 --> 00:20:01,492 And it was time to fly. 288 00:20:05,246 --> 00:20:07,248 (birds chirping, insects trilling) 289 00:20:08,583 --> 00:20:10,627 BOYKINS: We're out here at 5:30 in the morning, 290 00:20:10,710 --> 00:20:14,130 but, you know, for us, this is a lot of time, 291 00:20:14,213 --> 00:20:17,216 lot of hours, lot of sleepless nights coming together, so... 292 00:20:18,509 --> 00:20:21,179 It's sort of surreal. I don't know if it's really gonna happen yet. 293 00:20:21,262 --> 00:20:24,557 You know, it's like the whole butterfly thing going on at this point. 294 00:20:24,641 --> 00:20:26,643 ♪ ♪ 295 00:20:35,360 --> 00:20:36,986 Lucky peanuts. 296 00:20:38,363 --> 00:20:40,573 TROSPER: So, Spirit would launch first. 297 00:20:41,741 --> 00:20:44,452 And Opportunity three weeks later. 298 00:20:44,535 --> 00:20:46,579 MARK ADLER: This is Delta Launch Control at 299 00:20:46,663 --> 00:20:48,289 T-minus eight minutes, 40 seconds, and counting. 300 00:20:48,373 --> 00:20:52,710 TROSPER: And I was in the control room for Spirit at JPL. 301 00:20:53,795 --> 00:20:57,256 And I actually like it when I have a job to do 302 00:20:57,340 --> 00:20:59,342 because then I'm focused 303 00:20:59,425 --> 00:21:02,220 and-and it's a little harder to get emotional, 304 00:21:02,303 --> 00:21:04,514 because you have something you have to focus on. 305 00:21:04,597 --> 00:21:09,352 ADLER: This is the final checks of the Spirit MER-A spacecraft. 306 00:21:09,435 --> 00:21:11,396 TROSPER: I'm a farm girl from Ohio. 307 00:21:11,479 --> 00:21:14,482 I grew up raising sheep, pigs, cows. 308 00:21:14,565 --> 00:21:17,443 And my dad had worked in the Army Corps of Engineers... 309 00:21:18,903 --> 00:21:23,741 ...on the very first rockets, and he would just tell these amazing stories. 310 00:21:25,118 --> 00:21:30,581 But aerospace engineering wasn't something that girls around me did. 311 00:21:32,667 --> 00:21:35,753 So I just couldn't imagine that I would ever have 312 00:21:35,837 --> 00:21:39,048 the opportunity to send a rover to Mars. 313 00:21:39,132 --> 00:21:41,050 TROSPER (over radio): MER-2 is go for launch. 314 00:21:41,134 --> 00:21:42,343 MAN (over radio): Roger. 315 00:21:42,427 --> 00:21:46,347 BOYKINS: T-minus ten... you start freaking out. 316 00:21:46,431 --> 00:21:49,183 ADLER: Nine, eight, seven, 317 00:21:49,267 --> 00:21:52,145 six, five, four, 318 00:21:52,228 --> 00:21:54,480 (echoing): three, two, one. 319 00:21:54,564 --> 00:21:57,358 -BOYKINS: The engines start. -ADLER: And liftoff! 320 00:21:57,442 --> 00:21:59,235 (rumbling, whooshing) 321 00:21:59,318 --> 00:22:02,071 BOYKINS: You hear that rocket. 322 00:22:04,699 --> 00:22:06,034 No firecracker, no firecracker, 323 00:22:06,117 --> 00:22:08,036 no firecracker, no firecracker, no firecracker, no firecracker, 324 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:10,038 -no firecracker, no firecracker. -(cheering) 325 00:22:10,121 --> 00:22:12,123 ♪ ♪ 326 00:22:15,752 --> 00:22:18,629 MAN: Load relief integrated in. Vehicle's responding. 327 00:22:18,713 --> 00:22:21,674 Vehicle's recovering very nicely from the liftoff transition. 328 00:22:22,925 --> 00:22:26,345 I don't know whether I shed a tear, but I think, you know, 329 00:22:26,429 --> 00:22:29,640 this rocket is carrying my hopes and dreams. 330 00:22:29,724 --> 00:22:31,726 (chuckles): And, um... 331 00:22:31,809 --> 00:22:34,312 you know, it's very... 332 00:22:34,395 --> 00:22:37,065 it's very difficult to describe. (laughs) 333 00:22:37,148 --> 00:22:40,818 But you-you feel your life's work in the rocket. 334 00:22:40,902 --> 00:22:44,030 (whooping, whistling) 335 00:22:44,113 --> 00:22:46,115 (cheering, whistling) 336 00:22:47,867 --> 00:22:49,744 BOYKINS: I have raised this child. 337 00:22:49,827 --> 00:22:51,454 Yeah! 338 00:22:51,537 --> 00:22:53,456 That's sort of what it feels like. 339 00:22:55,249 --> 00:22:57,502 And now it's that child's moment to shine. 340 00:22:59,962 --> 00:23:02,924 SQUYRES: But it was hard to say goodbye. 341 00:23:04,217 --> 00:23:08,221 I devoted 16 years of my life to these rovers. 342 00:23:10,014 --> 00:23:12,558 And then you put 'em on top of a rocket 343 00:23:12,642 --> 00:23:15,019 and you shoot 'em into space 344 00:23:15,103 --> 00:23:17,396 and you're never going to see 'em again. 345 00:23:21,901 --> 00:23:23,736 TROSPER: For Opportunity, 346 00:23:23,820 --> 00:23:26,572 I was out with my, uh, family, and we were watching 347 00:23:26,656 --> 00:23:31,202 from the same launchpad that my dad had launched his missions from. 348 00:23:33,538 --> 00:23:35,790 And he had since passed away. 349 00:23:37,083 --> 00:23:42,004 And he was the proudest dad anybody... anybody could ever have. 350 00:23:42,088 --> 00:23:46,676 It was just very emotional-- for me, for my mom, for my family-- 351 00:23:46,759 --> 00:23:51,055 to just see how he had encouraged and inspired me 352 00:23:51,139 --> 00:23:53,391 to do space exploration. 353 00:24:06,279 --> 00:24:08,281 (whooshing) 354 00:24:10,575 --> 00:24:14,996 BOYKINS: The travel time to Mars for both rovers was six and a half months. 355 00:24:18,541 --> 00:24:21,252 Spirit and Opportunity were only three weeks behind each other, 356 00:24:21,335 --> 00:24:24,088 so they're not super far apart in celestial terms. 357 00:24:25,423 --> 00:24:28,676 So we have a trajectory to Mars, and we want to make sure 358 00:24:28,759 --> 00:24:31,596 that we are following that road to Mars as we move along. 359 00:24:36,309 --> 00:24:40,396 It's like you're in Los Angeles and you want to hit a golf ball 360 00:24:40,479 --> 00:24:41,981 to hit a door handle at Buckingham Palace, 361 00:24:42,064 --> 00:24:43,399 and that's what we're trying to do. 362 00:24:46,027 --> 00:24:48,446 BOYKINS: We call it the quiescent period. 363 00:24:48,529 --> 00:24:51,741 Six and a half months of quiescent time, nothing going on. 364 00:24:51,824 --> 00:24:54,702 Well, that's not exactly true. 365 00:24:54,785 --> 00:24:57,955 (explosive booming) 366 00:24:58,039 --> 00:25:01,500 MANNING: We got hit by the largest series 367 00:25:01,584 --> 00:25:04,295 of solar flares that had ever been seen before. 368 00:25:05,379 --> 00:25:09,884 And we saw this big ejection of the sun's energies and particles 369 00:25:09,967 --> 00:25:11,969 racing toward our spacecraft. 370 00:25:12,053 --> 00:25:14,055 ♪ ♪ 371 00:25:19,894 --> 00:25:22,104 TREBI-OLLENNU: Throughout solar flares, 372 00:25:22,188 --> 00:25:26,400 the sun releases bursts of plasma. 373 00:25:28,861 --> 00:25:32,990 Plasma is a highly charged cloud of electrons. 374 00:25:34,492 --> 00:25:38,829 MANNING: And the energetic particles, which could actually kill a human, 375 00:25:38,913 --> 00:25:41,457 they go slamming right into our rovers. 376 00:25:42,541 --> 00:25:45,378 All the way in to the computer. 377 00:25:50,091 --> 00:25:51,884 BOYKINS: Really bad for spacecraft. 378 00:25:51,968 --> 00:25:53,970 (rattling) 379 00:25:55,721 --> 00:25:58,724 MANNING: Now software we put on board had been corrupted. 380 00:26:01,143 --> 00:26:03,271 So we had to reboot both rovers. 381 00:26:07,316 --> 00:26:10,569 BOYKINS: So we told our Johnny Fives to go to sleep. 382 00:26:11,779 --> 00:26:13,489 This is really scary. 383 00:26:15,741 --> 00:26:20,413 TROSPER: So you're loading this new version of software up on the vehicles 384 00:26:20,496 --> 00:26:22,164 and transitioning to it. 385 00:26:22,248 --> 00:26:24,500 You know, control, alt, delete, hoping it all works. 386 00:26:24,583 --> 00:26:26,502 ♪ ♪ 387 00:26:26,585 --> 00:26:27,962 (whirring) 388 00:26:28,045 --> 00:26:29,922 (beeping) 389 00:26:30,006 --> 00:26:31,799 (powering up) 390 00:26:32,883 --> 00:26:34,885 (clicking, whirring) 391 00:26:36,929 --> 00:26:39,724 MANNING: It worked. They rebooted. 392 00:26:42,310 --> 00:26:45,563 And it took us a couple of weeks to clean up our computers. 393 00:26:48,149 --> 00:26:50,568 By then, the sun had calmed down, 394 00:26:50,651 --> 00:26:54,530 the software was loaded, and we were ready to land on Mars. 395 00:27:00,536 --> 00:27:02,955 SQUYRES: But at that time, 396 00:27:03,039 --> 00:27:06,500 two thirds of missions to Mars had failed. 397 00:27:08,294 --> 00:27:11,797 Mars was a spacecraft graveyard... (chuckles) when we flew. 398 00:27:11,881 --> 00:27:13,883 (whooshing) 399 00:27:15,593 --> 00:27:19,680 A few years before, NASA launched two missions to Mars, 400 00:27:19,764 --> 00:27:22,350 Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter. 401 00:27:22,433 --> 00:27:24,769 (explosion) 402 00:27:24,852 --> 00:27:26,270 Both failed. 403 00:27:27,813 --> 00:27:29,857 One burned up in the atmosphere. 404 00:27:29,940 --> 00:27:31,817 The other one crashed on the surface. 405 00:27:33,152 --> 00:27:34,779 BOYKINS: Mars Climate Orbiter-- 406 00:27:34,862 --> 00:27:36,364 it was a communication error. 407 00:27:36,447 --> 00:27:40,743 We were converting what was given to us in English-- 408 00:27:40,826 --> 00:27:42,995 we thought it was given to us in metric. 409 00:27:43,079 --> 00:27:45,831 And that's ridiculously embarrassing. 410 00:27:45,915 --> 00:27:48,709 Big news from outer space, ladies and gentlemen. 411 00:27:48,793 --> 00:27:53,464 Apparently now, scientists claim there is no intelligent life... 412 00:27:53,547 --> 00:27:55,800 -at NASA. Yeah. -(laughter) 413 00:27:55,883 --> 00:27:57,051 Couldn't find it. 414 00:27:57,134 --> 00:28:00,930 SQUYRES: And so all eyes were kind of on us. 415 00:28:03,265 --> 00:28:08,062 Our team felt that Spirit and Opportunity 416 00:28:08,145 --> 00:28:10,689 needed to be a mission of redemption. 417 00:28:13,275 --> 00:28:17,279 BOYKINS: As part of the team, we felt as though, 418 00:28:17,363 --> 00:28:19,824 if this landing didn't succeed... 419 00:28:20,991 --> 00:28:23,160 ...this might be the end of NASA. 420 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,583 Good evening, everyone, and welcome to what promises to be 421 00:28:29,667 --> 00:28:33,546 both an exciting and eventful night here at JPL. 422 00:28:33,629 --> 00:28:36,799 This is live coverage of Spirit's landing on Mars... 423 00:28:36,882 --> 00:28:39,510 Live coverage of Opportunity's landing on Mars. 424 00:28:39,593 --> 00:28:43,806 And tonight, the navigation team says all systems are go. 425 00:28:44,098 --> 00:28:45,891 ♪ ♪ 426 00:28:48,310 --> 00:28:51,605 TROSPER: Spirit and Opportunity were going to land on opposite sides of Mars 427 00:28:51,689 --> 00:28:53,274 three weeks apart. 428 00:28:55,734 --> 00:28:58,028 The anxiety is very high. 429 00:28:58,112 --> 00:29:02,324 I don't know at what point I, uh, went on blood pressure medication. 430 00:29:03,409 --> 00:29:06,203 WAYNE LEE (over radio): And a pleasant good evening to the flight deck. 431 00:29:06,287 --> 00:29:09,623 Our current speed is 11,320 miles per hour, 432 00:29:09,707 --> 00:29:12,376 which is fast enough to traverse a distance equal to the United States 433 00:29:12,460 --> 00:29:13,878 in 12 minutes. 434 00:29:13,961 --> 00:29:17,381 At this time, we'd like to invite you to sit back and enjoy the landing. 435 00:29:20,634 --> 00:29:22,761 BOYKINS: So, entry, descent, landing. 436 00:29:24,013 --> 00:29:27,892 It's approximately 86 events where, if one thing goes wrong... 437 00:29:27,975 --> 00:29:29,977 (whooshing) 438 00:29:30,060 --> 00:29:31,687 ...we will lose the rovers. 439 00:29:33,022 --> 00:29:35,733 It's the scariest thing you can ever think of, 440 00:29:35,816 --> 00:29:38,110 because the communication time 441 00:29:38,194 --> 00:29:41,572 from the rover saying, "Hey, I'm doing this," to Earth is ten minutes. 442 00:29:44,783 --> 00:29:47,786 There is nothing you can do 443 00:29:47,870 --> 00:29:49,663 other than hope they'd survive. 444 00:29:49,747 --> 00:29:52,458 TROSPER: We call it the six minutes of terror... 445 00:29:52,541 --> 00:29:56,045 is the time from when the spacecraft 446 00:29:56,128 --> 00:29:58,506 enters the top of the Martian atmosphere 447 00:29:58,589 --> 00:30:03,677 until it does all the autonomous-- all on its own-- activities it needs to do 448 00:30:03,761 --> 00:30:06,013 to get safely landed on the ground. 449 00:30:06,096 --> 00:30:07,973 LEE (over radio): Atmospheric entry in... 450 00:30:08,057 --> 00:30:10,351 three, two, one. 451 00:30:10,434 --> 00:30:12,978 (whooshing) 452 00:30:13,062 --> 00:30:16,607 TROSPER: Everything is on the line in the six minutes of terror. 453 00:30:16,690 --> 00:30:18,984 LEE: The vehicle is now at the top of the Martian atmosphere. 454 00:30:19,068 --> 00:30:21,946 At the time of peak heating, the heat shield will be heated 455 00:30:22,029 --> 00:30:24,615 to temperatures upwards of 1600 degrees Celsius. 456 00:30:24,698 --> 00:30:26,909 (wind whistling) 457 00:30:26,992 --> 00:30:28,744 BOYKINS: Parachute opens. 458 00:30:29,745 --> 00:30:30,996 Slows you down more. 459 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:33,332 LEE (over radio): Current velocity is 446 miles per hour. 460 00:30:33,415 --> 00:30:36,085 At this time, we expect the vehicle has gone subsonic. 461 00:30:38,921 --> 00:30:41,549 BOYKINS: You have this thing called the heat shield that's super hot, 462 00:30:41,632 --> 00:30:43,467 and you have to get rid of it. 463 00:30:45,469 --> 00:30:48,472 MANNING: But now the hard part begins. 464 00:30:48,556 --> 00:30:53,227 The lander has to rappel down on a 20-meter rope. 465 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:56,855 BOYKINS: So now you have a parachute, you have this back shell, 466 00:30:56,939 --> 00:30:58,607 you have this lander. 467 00:31:01,860 --> 00:31:03,779 The airbags inflate. 468 00:31:08,033 --> 00:31:11,453 At 40 feet, the back shell fires retro-rockets, 469 00:31:11,537 --> 00:31:14,248 slows the rover down to zero miles per hour 470 00:31:14,331 --> 00:31:16,250 and then cuts the last cord. 471 00:31:23,799 --> 00:31:25,134 (quiet chatter) 472 00:31:25,217 --> 00:31:27,094 LEE (over radio): We won't see a signal at the moment. 473 00:31:27,177 --> 00:31:30,389 MAN: We saw an intermittent signal that indicated we were bouncing. 474 00:31:30,472 --> 00:31:34,602 However... however, we currently do not have signal from the spacecraft. 475 00:31:34,685 --> 00:31:36,353 LEE: Please stand by. 476 00:31:42,610 --> 00:31:44,903 MANNING: Spirit vanishes. 477 00:31:46,572 --> 00:31:48,949 The signal goes away. 478 00:31:50,034 --> 00:31:51,910 Completely gone. 479 00:31:53,245 --> 00:31:55,247 In other words, she may have crashed. 480 00:32:02,463 --> 00:32:04,131 BOYKINS: Silence. 481 00:32:05,299 --> 00:32:07,301 Everybody waiting for a signal. 482 00:32:08,385 --> 00:32:10,220 Everybody waiting for something. 483 00:32:12,431 --> 00:32:14,433 (takes deep breath) 484 00:32:15,934 --> 00:32:18,979 MANNING: I was thinking that we did all of this in vain. 485 00:32:20,397 --> 00:32:22,524 That maybe we lost this mission. 486 00:32:22,608 --> 00:32:24,777 ♪ ♪ 487 00:32:30,324 --> 00:32:32,159 POLLY ESTABROOK: Do you see it? Do you see it? 488 00:32:32,242 --> 00:32:34,203 -Do you see it? -What do we see? -W-W-Wait, wait. 489 00:32:34,286 --> 00:32:35,871 (cheering, excited chatter) 490 00:32:35,954 --> 00:32:37,414 It's there, Rob! 491 00:32:37,498 --> 00:32:39,958 (excited chattering) 492 00:32:40,042 --> 00:32:42,002 LEE (over radio): We have a very strong signal 493 00:32:42,086 --> 00:32:43,879 in the left-hand polarization channel, 494 00:32:43,962 --> 00:32:46,423 indicating that… (continues indistinctly) 495 00:32:46,507 --> 00:32:48,759 (excited chattering) 496 00:32:48,842 --> 00:32:50,844 MANNING (over radio): We're on Mars, everybody. 497 00:33:00,604 --> 00:33:02,856 You see us jumping up and down. 498 00:33:02,940 --> 00:33:04,942 We're not jumping for joy. 499 00:33:05,025 --> 00:33:06,819 We're jumping for relief. 500 00:33:09,822 --> 00:33:12,825 Both rovers landed safely on the surface of Mars. 501 00:33:15,077 --> 00:33:17,079 (excited chatter) 502 00:33:18,414 --> 00:33:20,541 The signal's going up and down. It means that... 503 00:33:20,624 --> 00:33:22,334 (chatter continues indistinctly) 504 00:33:27,464 --> 00:33:29,591 NARRATOR: Spirit rover diary. 505 00:33:29,675 --> 00:33:33,887 January 4, 2004. Sol one. 506 00:33:45,399 --> 00:33:47,609 ♪ ♪ 507 00:33:47,693 --> 00:33:50,112 CHRIS LEWICKI (over radio): Ladies and gentlemen, you are privileged to be 508 00:33:50,195 --> 00:33:52,906 in one of the most exciting rooms on Earth at the moment. 509 00:33:53,991 --> 00:33:55,951 ABIGAIL FRAEMAN: I was actually a high school student 510 00:33:56,034 --> 00:33:57,911 when Opportunity landed. 511 00:33:58,162 --> 00:33:59,997 I was selected, um, 512 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,207 as one of 16 students from around the world... 513 00:34:03,542 --> 00:34:07,546 ...to be in the mission control room with the science team 514 00:34:07,629 --> 00:34:10,007 when Oppy sent down her first images. 515 00:34:10,090 --> 00:34:12,134 MAN (over radio): Full Navcams are coming down now. 516 00:34:12,217 --> 00:34:13,844 Full Navcams. 517 00:34:13,927 --> 00:34:15,929 (applause) 518 00:34:18,265 --> 00:34:19,391 LEWICKI (over radio): Wow! 519 00:34:19,475 --> 00:34:21,393 We are on Mars. 520 00:34:21,477 --> 00:34:23,437 (cheering) 521 00:34:29,693 --> 00:34:34,072 TROSPER: When those first images come, the relief... 522 00:34:34,156 --> 00:34:38,160 the relief, you know, the level of my bl-blood pressure going back down. 523 00:34:42,539 --> 00:34:44,374 Then we're all on cloud nine. 524 00:34:46,210 --> 00:34:48,796 (squealing excitedly, laughing) 525 00:34:52,841 --> 00:34:54,343 (sighs) 526 00:34:54,426 --> 00:34:56,220 My child has arrived. 527 00:34:56,303 --> 00:34:57,471 (laughs) It's... 528 00:34:57,554 --> 00:34:58,889 ♪ Ah... ♪ 529 00:35:02,142 --> 00:35:03,727 Welcome to Mars. 530 00:35:08,565 --> 00:35:12,194 NARRATOR: Opportunity rover diary. Sol one. 531 00:35:13,987 --> 00:35:16,949 The signal from the vehicle is solid and strong. 532 00:35:17,991 --> 00:35:20,953 Opportunity is on Mars. 533 00:35:21,036 --> 00:35:22,955 ♪ ♪ 534 00:35:23,038 --> 00:35:25,040 (whirring) 535 00:35:44,142 --> 00:35:46,854 (buzzes, beeps) 536 00:35:46,937 --> 00:35:51,525 BOYKINS: Opportunity landed in a small little crater in the Meridiani Planes. 537 00:35:52,985 --> 00:35:56,405 And it was a 300-million-mile hole in one. 538 00:35:58,407 --> 00:36:01,326 NARRATOR: Pancam, Navcam and Hazcams 539 00:36:01,410 --> 00:36:04,788 are all returning spectacular images. 540 00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:10,586 What in God's name are we looking at? 541 00:36:10,669 --> 00:36:12,713 (rover beeps, buzzes) 542 00:36:14,673 --> 00:36:16,967 SQUYRES: I will attempt no science analysis, 543 00:36:17,050 --> 00:36:19,261 'cause it looks like nothing I've ever seen before in my life. 544 00:36:19,344 --> 00:36:21,263 (laughter) 545 00:36:21,346 --> 00:36:24,474 As we had expected, holy smokes. 546 00:36:24,558 --> 00:36:27,853 I'm sorry, I'm just... (stammers, sighs) 547 00:36:27,936 --> 00:36:30,397 (laughter) 548 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:32,482 I got no words for this. 549 00:36:35,819 --> 00:36:39,823 There was this dark sand everywhere. 550 00:36:42,117 --> 00:36:47,372 And then poking out in the distance were these light-colored rocks. 551 00:36:48,290 --> 00:36:50,459 They were jumping up and down and saying, 552 00:36:50,542 --> 00:36:53,754 "Oh, my gosh, that's bedrock, you guys. I see bedrock." 553 00:36:53,837 --> 00:36:56,048 And, you know, of course, I didn't know what that meant. 554 00:36:56,131 --> 00:36:57,674 I didn't know why that was important. 555 00:36:57,758 --> 00:37:00,010 But I don't think I slept a wink that night. 556 00:37:00,093 --> 00:37:01,511 It was so exciting. 557 00:37:06,183 --> 00:37:09,144 NARRATOR: It's the stuff that can tell you what happened right here 558 00:37:09,227 --> 00:37:12,356 in this exact place long ago. 559 00:37:15,067 --> 00:37:17,069 (beeps, whirs) 560 00:37:18,487 --> 00:37:20,489 (beeping) 561 00:37:22,824 --> 00:37:25,452 NARRATOR: Hundreds upon hundreds of people around the world 562 00:37:25,535 --> 00:37:27,371 have worked on this project. 563 00:37:28,914 --> 00:37:33,210 And it all had to go perfectly to make this moment happen. 564 00:37:35,253 --> 00:37:37,255 ♪ ♪ 565 00:37:43,887 --> 00:37:46,556 (beeping) 566 00:37:48,266 --> 00:37:52,312 Spirit's alive, Opportunity landed safely, 567 00:37:52,396 --> 00:37:56,108 and we've got real bedrock in front of us at Meridiani. 568 00:37:57,401 --> 00:38:00,278 Now it's time for sleep. 569 00:38:04,241 --> 00:38:05,409 (birds chirping) 570 00:38:05,492 --> 00:38:06,618 REPORTER: Hello, everyone. 571 00:38:06,702 --> 00:38:10,205 This is a big day for the rover on Mars. 572 00:38:10,288 --> 00:38:14,459 And it's ready to do exactly what it was designed to do 573 00:38:14,543 --> 00:38:16,670 and be a robotic geologist. 574 00:38:18,171 --> 00:38:22,009 Per custom, our morning wake-up song is coming right up. 575 00:38:23,719 --> 00:38:26,221 ("Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf playing) 576 00:38:30,934 --> 00:38:32,894 ♪ Get your motor runnin' ♪ 577 00:38:34,229 --> 00:38:36,356 ♪ Head out on the highway... ♪ 578 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:39,151 SQUYRES: A tradition in human spaceflight... 579 00:38:40,235 --> 00:38:42,487 ...has been to wake the crew up. 580 00:38:42,571 --> 00:38:45,407 The crew wake-up song, which they would play music. 581 00:38:45,490 --> 00:38:47,325 You know, "Wake up, guys. It's time to get to work." 582 00:38:47,409 --> 00:38:49,411 ("Born to Be Wild" guitar riff playing) 583 00:38:51,246 --> 00:38:54,791 ♪ Born to be wild... ♪ 584 00:38:54,875 --> 00:38:58,045 STROUPE: The Martian day-- we call it a sol-- 585 00:38:58,128 --> 00:39:01,339 is about 40 minutes longer than an Earth day. 586 00:39:01,423 --> 00:39:05,469 So your schedule is shifting by about an hour every single day. 587 00:39:06,553 --> 00:39:08,263 SQUYRES: We were all living on Mars time. 588 00:39:09,347 --> 00:39:11,349 And it was a tough way to live 589 00:39:11,433 --> 00:39:15,353 'cause, you know, the daily planning meeting today is gonna start at noon, 590 00:39:15,437 --> 00:39:19,483 and two and a half weeks later, we started a new day at midnight. 591 00:39:19,566 --> 00:39:21,193 ♪ We were born, born to be wild... ♪ 592 00:39:21,276 --> 00:39:24,404 TROSPER: And so we were tired, we were jet-lagged, 593 00:39:24,488 --> 00:39:26,156 and we needed to wake up, too. 594 00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:29,117 ♪ I never wanna die ♪ 595 00:39:30,285 --> 00:39:34,289 (playing faintly over speaker): ♪ Born to be wild... ♪ 596 00:39:34,372 --> 00:39:36,875 (clicking, whirring) 597 00:39:36,958 --> 00:39:39,294 TROSPER: And now we were on this 90-sol race 598 00:39:39,377 --> 00:39:43,465 to find out as much as we could about Mars. 599 00:39:43,548 --> 00:39:45,801 ♪ ♪ 600 00:39:45,884 --> 00:39:49,054 SQUYRES: We picked the Spirit landing site, Gusev Crater, 601 00:39:49,137 --> 00:39:53,809 that looked like it had a huge, dried-up riverbed flowing into it, 602 00:39:53,892 --> 00:39:58,396 and we went there hoping to find evidence of past water 603 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:00,690 and past habitability. 604 00:40:01,858 --> 00:40:04,903 I mean, there has to have been a lake in Gusev Crater 605 00:40:04,986 --> 00:40:06,613 at one time. 606 00:40:12,285 --> 00:40:16,748 FRAEMAN: But all Spirit found was this prison of lava rocks. 607 00:40:16,832 --> 00:40:18,834 (beeping, whirring) 608 00:40:25,298 --> 00:40:28,051 No evidence at all for any interaction with water on these rocks. 609 00:40:29,845 --> 00:40:31,847 (clicking, beeping) 610 00:40:37,477 --> 00:40:40,480 ELLISON: On the other side of Mars, 611 00:40:40,564 --> 00:40:44,526 Opportunity's landing site was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. 612 00:40:48,530 --> 00:40:51,199 NARRATOR: Opportunity. Sol eight. 613 00:40:51,283 --> 00:40:53,994 We've gotten down the first images of the soil 614 00:40:54,077 --> 00:40:56,246 right in front of the rover. 615 00:40:56,329 --> 00:41:00,041 It's the strangest-looking thing we've ever seen on Mars. 616 00:41:02,419 --> 00:41:06,256 SQUYRES: So it turns out the surface of Mars at this location 617 00:41:06,339 --> 00:41:08,049 is covered by 618 00:41:08,133 --> 00:41:12,345 an uncountable number of little round... things. 619 00:41:12,429 --> 00:41:13,555 (chuckles) 620 00:41:13,638 --> 00:41:15,640 (whirring) 621 00:41:18,935 --> 00:41:21,146 And when she got to the outcrop... 622 00:41:22,314 --> 00:41:25,442 ...these little round things were embedded in the rock 623 00:41:25,525 --> 00:41:27,527 like blueberries in a muffin. 624 00:41:35,869 --> 00:41:39,206 FRAEMAN: And it turns out the composition of these little blueberries 625 00:41:39,289 --> 00:41:42,584 was a mineral called hematite, 626 00:41:42,667 --> 00:41:45,128 which is a mineral that often forms in the presence of water. 627 00:41:45,212 --> 00:41:47,214 (applause, cheering) 628 00:41:52,052 --> 00:41:55,722 SQUYRES: From the mineralogy, from the geochemistry, 629 00:41:55,805 --> 00:41:58,892 everything that we needed 630 00:41:58,975 --> 00:42:03,897 to come to a reasonable conclusion that there was once water on Mars 631 00:42:03,980 --> 00:42:07,567 was right there in the walls of Eagle Crater. 632 00:42:08,944 --> 00:42:10,862 But... 633 00:42:10,946 --> 00:42:13,240 this is a very acidic environment. 634 00:42:14,783 --> 00:42:17,619 Not a place where life could have developed. 635 00:42:18,620 --> 00:42:21,581 So, yes, there had been liquid water, 636 00:42:21,665 --> 00:42:24,376 but this wasn't water that you or I would want to drink. 637 00:42:24,459 --> 00:42:26,461 (beeping, whirring) 638 00:42:30,382 --> 00:42:32,801 It was basically like battery acid. 639 00:42:35,553 --> 00:42:37,555 You would not want to put your toes in there. 640 00:42:37,639 --> 00:42:39,683 You probably wouldn't have any toes left if you did. 641 00:42:46,314 --> 00:42:51,569 What you really want is nice, flowing, neutral-pH groundwater. 642 00:42:54,197 --> 00:42:57,450 And so to go and find a story of habitability... 643 00:42:59,411 --> 00:43:01,621 ...you've got to go on a bit of a road trip. 644 00:43:04,958 --> 00:43:07,585 But the problem is 645 00:43:07,669 --> 00:43:10,964 these rovers only have 90 days to live. 646 00:43:24,769 --> 00:43:29,274 VANDI VERMA: Rover drivers are those of us who operate the rover on Mars. 647 00:43:30,567 --> 00:43:32,944 (quiet chatter) 648 00:43:33,028 --> 00:43:35,322 It's such a fun job, but you can't 649 00:43:35,405 --> 00:43:37,365 just use a steering wheel to drive it. 650 00:43:38,450 --> 00:43:41,745 Because it takes anywhere from four minutes to 20 minutes 651 00:43:41,828 --> 00:43:44,664 for a signal to reach Mars. 652 00:43:44,748 --> 00:43:48,460 So we'd send the commands, we then go off and sleep... 653 00:43:50,170 --> 00:43:53,256 ...and then the rover will execute the drive that day. 654 00:43:53,340 --> 00:43:55,633 And by the time the drive is done, 655 00:43:55,717 --> 00:43:57,677 we come back and we get the results of that 656 00:43:57,761 --> 00:43:59,596 and start planning again. 657 00:44:00,972 --> 00:44:03,099 I grew up in India. 658 00:44:03,183 --> 00:44:05,685 And when I was about seven years old, 659 00:44:05,769 --> 00:44:08,813 somebody gave me this book which was about space exploration, 660 00:44:08,897 --> 00:44:10,648 and I was just blown away. 661 00:44:12,525 --> 00:44:15,195 Did you see how close we get to that rock in the beginning? 662 00:44:15,278 --> 00:44:19,324 During the mission, I was pregnant with the twins. 663 00:44:19,407 --> 00:44:23,828 And so it was a different way for me to relate to the twin rovers. 664 00:44:23,912 --> 00:44:27,207 I thought about these two beings that are 665 00:44:27,290 --> 00:44:29,626 so connected and so similar 666 00:44:29,709 --> 00:44:33,129 and yet are going to have completely independent lives. 667 00:44:35,924 --> 00:44:38,051 The rovers have their own personality, 668 00:44:38,134 --> 00:44:42,806 and it's hard for me to pick which one of them is my favorite. 669 00:44:42,889 --> 00:44:44,516 Can't really pick one, you know. 670 00:44:44,599 --> 00:44:46,601 It's sort of like this twin thing. (laughs) 671 00:44:50,188 --> 00:44:52,482 (indistinct chatter) 672 00:44:54,859 --> 00:44:59,406 TROSPER: In Gusev Crater, Spirit was in a much colder site. 673 00:44:59,489 --> 00:45:03,159 Opportunity was at the equator, kind of like the vacation spot on Mars. 674 00:45:04,536 --> 00:45:08,373 And so Spirit just had a tougher mission ahead of her. 675 00:45:12,127 --> 00:45:16,923 BOYKINS: And so Spirit, she finds this rock we dubbed Adirondack. 676 00:45:21,386 --> 00:45:23,513 She touches the rock. 677 00:45:23,596 --> 00:45:25,890 (beeping) 678 00:45:28,518 --> 00:45:30,437 And she doesn't call home. 679 00:45:31,521 --> 00:45:35,108 (indistinct radio chatter) 680 00:45:35,191 --> 00:45:37,777 Uh, yes, sir, I'm not seeing anything from our displays. 681 00:45:37,861 --> 00:45:39,988 Um, you're not seeing any signal at this time? 682 00:45:44,993 --> 00:45:47,370 -MAN (over radio): Uh, that's a negative. -Copy. 683 00:45:51,875 --> 00:45:54,878 TROSPER: I was one of Spirit's mission managers. 684 00:45:54,961 --> 00:45:58,798 And so I didn't go home for several days. 685 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:04,345 We're all kind of somber in the mission support area 686 00:46:04,429 --> 00:46:09,350 where we're commanding Spirit and trying to get any information from her. 687 00:46:09,434 --> 00:46:11,728 (indistinct radio chatter) 688 00:46:11,811 --> 00:46:17,108 And Mark Adler was picking the wake-up song for the day. 689 00:46:18,193 --> 00:46:20,445 And I was just like, "Oh, do we have to play a wake-up song?" 690 00:46:20,528 --> 00:46:23,198 You know, I was just worried about Spirit. 691 00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:27,869 You know, the fun part of the wake-up song was lost on me at that point. 692 00:46:30,371 --> 00:46:32,207 ADLER (over speaker): And all stations, this is mission. 693 00:46:32,290 --> 00:46:35,585 Uh, today is not the day to buck a tradition, I think, 694 00:46:35,668 --> 00:46:37,712 so we're gonna play a song. 695 00:46:39,172 --> 00:46:41,799 ("S.O.S." by ABBA playing) 696 00:46:47,013 --> 00:46:49,015 ♪ Where are those happy days? ♪ 697 00:46:49,098 --> 00:46:51,935 ♪ They seem so hard to find ♪ 698 00:46:53,102 --> 00:46:55,188 ♪ I tried to reach for you ♪ 699 00:46:55,271 --> 00:46:58,983 ♪ But you have closed your mind ♪ 700 00:46:59,067 --> 00:47:03,196 ♪ Whatever happened to our love? ♪ 701 00:47:03,279 --> 00:47:05,907 ♪ I wish I understood ♪ 702 00:47:07,325 --> 00:47:09,410 ♪ It used to be so nice ♪ 703 00:47:09,494 --> 00:47:11,496 ♪ It used to be so good ♪ 704 00:47:15,041 --> 00:47:18,503 ♪ So when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me? ♪ 705 00:47:18,586 --> 00:47:20,421 ♪ S.O.S. ♪ 706 00:47:21,422 --> 00:47:23,091 (chuckling) 707 00:47:23,174 --> 00:47:26,302 ♪ The love you gave me, nothing else can save me ♪ 708 00:47:26,386 --> 00:47:28,346 ♪ S.O.S. ♪ 709 00:47:29,597 --> 00:47:31,724 ♪ When you're gone ♪ 710 00:47:31,808 --> 00:47:35,478 ♪ Though I try, how can I carry on? ♪ 711 00:47:41,818 --> 00:47:43,820 TROSPER: I thought, "What a perfect song." 712 00:47:45,029 --> 00:47:47,323 ABBA, "S.O.S." 713 00:47:48,700 --> 00:47:50,618 (whirring, beeping) 714 00:47:50,702 --> 00:47:52,704 ("S.O.S." continues faintly over speaker) 715 00:47:52,787 --> 00:47:56,708 NARRATOR: We got back a beep, but Spirit's a very sick rover. 716 00:47:58,293 --> 00:48:02,463 Her flash memory on board the vehicle has somehow become corrupted, 717 00:48:02,547 --> 00:48:05,466 so she's been awake through the last two nights, 718 00:48:05,550 --> 00:48:08,678 crashing and rebooting over and over. 719 00:48:08,761 --> 00:48:11,097 She's up all night. She's like the teenage kid 720 00:48:11,180 --> 00:48:13,474 who just can't stop, can't stop playing their video game. 721 00:48:13,558 --> 00:48:15,602 I mean, she was just going and going and going. 722 00:48:15,685 --> 00:48:18,771 Until her batteries were almost drained. 723 00:48:21,357 --> 00:48:25,111 So we said, "Let's try to get her shut down." 724 00:48:26,112 --> 00:48:29,532 But we gave her the gentle shutdown command, 725 00:48:29,616 --> 00:48:31,242 and she wouldn't shut down. 726 00:48:32,327 --> 00:48:34,787 And so we started to get a little panicked, 727 00:48:34,871 --> 00:48:38,374 'cause now we have to send Spirit a "shut down, damn it." 728 00:48:38,458 --> 00:48:40,418 It's a command that, no matter what else happens, 729 00:48:40,501 --> 00:48:42,712 it makes the rover shut down. 730 00:48:42,795 --> 00:48:47,133 MAN (over speaker): 1-4-2 decimal alpha, decimal shut-down-damn-it until 24 hours. 731 00:48:48,051 --> 00:48:50,053 ("S.O.S." continues) 732 00:48:54,098 --> 00:48:57,560 MANNING: We were about ready to tell the world that we had lost Spirit. 733 00:48:57,644 --> 00:48:58,645 (indistinct radio chatter) 734 00:48:58,728 --> 00:49:00,688 But then, suddenly... 735 00:49:00,772 --> 00:49:03,274 -WOMAN (over radio): Go ahead, Telecom. -Can confirm data is flowing. 736 00:49:03,358 --> 00:49:06,152 (cheering, applause) 737 00:49:06,235 --> 00:49:09,322 NARRATOR: After a few nights of severe insomnia, 738 00:49:09,405 --> 00:49:11,157 the rover is now sleeping peacefully. 739 00:49:11,240 --> 00:49:12,992 Go power! (laughs) 740 00:49:13,076 --> 00:49:15,787 NARRATOR: Spirit is back. 741 00:49:15,870 --> 00:49:17,914 Like a well-oiled machine, isn't it? 742 00:49:17,997 --> 00:49:20,333 -(laughter) -(song ends) 743 00:49:22,126 --> 00:49:24,128 SQUYRES (over TV): ...is kind of an estimate. 744 00:49:24,420 --> 00:49:27,715 The thing that's ultimately gonna limit the lifetime of these vehicles 745 00:49:27,799 --> 00:49:30,426 is buildup of dust on the solar arrays. 746 00:49:30,510 --> 00:49:33,721 You can think of 90 sols as being when the warranty expires. 747 00:49:33,805 --> 00:49:36,140 Okay, that's how long the mission is intended to last. 748 00:49:36,224 --> 00:49:38,768 We expect to get at least 90 sols out of it. 749 00:49:38,851 --> 00:49:41,979 How much more than that we get depends on what Mars gives us. 750 00:49:42,063 --> 00:49:44,065 (whirring) 751 00:49:45,149 --> 00:49:48,820 TROSPER: We were concerned that after 90 sols on Mars 752 00:49:48,903 --> 00:49:53,491 Spirit and Opportunity would not have enough power 753 00:49:53,574 --> 00:49:56,160 and that would be the way that the rovers died. 754 00:49:56,244 --> 00:49:58,246 ♪ ♪ 755 00:50:00,081 --> 00:50:02,083 (beeping) 756 00:50:03,126 --> 00:50:05,920 (whirring) 757 00:50:06,003 --> 00:50:08,005 (beeping) 758 00:50:12,135 --> 00:50:13,594 (beeping) 759 00:50:16,597 --> 00:50:18,599 (wind howling) 760 00:50:24,313 --> 00:50:26,691 TROSPER: And then we see these dust devils, 761 00:50:26,774 --> 00:50:31,112 and we were concerned about what they could do to Spirit and Opportunity. 762 00:50:36,159 --> 00:50:37,785 MANNING: We'd taken this picture 763 00:50:37,869 --> 00:50:40,663 some weeks before, and it was getting really, really red and dusty. 764 00:50:40,747 --> 00:50:42,915 You could barely see the solar panels anymore. 765 00:50:44,167 --> 00:50:46,169 But the morning after the dust devil, 766 00:50:46,252 --> 00:50:48,254 it's like somebody came along with Windex. 767 00:50:48,337 --> 00:50:50,381 (imitates bottle spraying) 768 00:50:50,465 --> 00:50:54,260 And the solar panels were as clean as the day that we landed. 769 00:51:01,058 --> 00:51:05,021 TROSPER: Turns out these dust devils were the best friends these rovers had. 770 00:51:09,859 --> 00:51:12,862 TREBI-OLLENNU: They were literally our life support machines. 771 00:51:12,945 --> 00:51:15,490 They come in at the right time 772 00:51:15,573 --> 00:51:18,034 to breathe… They let off... let off oxygen into us, 773 00:51:18,117 --> 00:51:20,453 and then we get our energies back. (laughs) 774 00:51:20,536 --> 00:51:22,288 -(cork pops) -(jovial chatter) 775 00:51:22,371 --> 00:51:24,248 MAN: Here's to us. 776 00:51:24,332 --> 00:51:26,584 (cheering, applause) 777 00:51:28,336 --> 00:51:32,548 TROSPER: So, we had met our main mission success requirements: 90 sols. 778 00:51:34,967 --> 00:51:40,181 And we start thinking we have maybe unlimited life on these rovers 779 00:51:40,264 --> 00:51:42,475 because the dust devils have really helped us out here. 780 00:51:42,558 --> 00:51:45,102 So let's go, let's hit the road, pedal to the metal, 781 00:51:45,353 --> 00:51:47,271 and go see Mars. 782 00:51:51,901 --> 00:51:55,571 SQUYRES: We got to sol 90 for both rovers, and we had fun. 783 00:51:57,323 --> 00:51:58,825 So we were doing rover drag races. 784 00:51:58,908 --> 00:52:01,619 I mean, the two rovers were competing with each other 785 00:52:01,702 --> 00:52:04,247 to see who could do the most meters on a given sol. 786 00:52:10,253 --> 00:52:12,880 With Spirit, we had this disappointment. 787 00:52:12,964 --> 00:52:15,383 Like, this landing site is not what we thought it would be. 788 00:52:15,466 --> 00:52:16,843 ♪ ♪ 789 00:52:16,926 --> 00:52:19,136 FRAEMAN: But Spirit looked off, 790 00:52:19,220 --> 00:52:21,389 and there were these hills rising in the distance 791 00:52:21,472 --> 00:52:23,432 which were named the Columbia Hills. 792 00:52:23,516 --> 00:52:26,310 And so, if there's any potential evidence of drinkable water, 793 00:52:26,394 --> 00:52:28,437 maybe we'll find it in them hills. 794 00:52:30,523 --> 00:52:33,109 And on the other side of the planet, 795 00:52:33,192 --> 00:52:37,572 our lucky rover Opportunity was on a whole nother adventure. 796 00:52:39,031 --> 00:52:41,158 NARRATOR: Opportunity rover diary. 797 00:52:41,242 --> 00:52:45,872 What we really need is more bedrock deeper down in the ground. 798 00:52:45,955 --> 00:52:51,294 The closest thing is that big crater off to the east, named Endurance. 799 00:52:51,377 --> 00:52:54,422 SQUYRES: The beautiful thing about a crater is that 800 00:52:54,505 --> 00:52:58,801 it's a time-ordered sequence of events with the old rocks at the bottom 801 00:52:58,885 --> 00:53:02,430 and younger and younger and younger and younger rocks piled on top. 802 00:53:05,308 --> 00:53:08,269 There's scientific gold down there. 803 00:53:08,352 --> 00:53:13,691 But we had never intended to drive a rover down such a steep slope. 804 00:53:16,027 --> 00:53:17,820 (whirs, beeps) 805 00:53:17,904 --> 00:53:20,531 ELLISON: It's very easy to kill a robot on another planet 806 00:53:20,615 --> 00:53:23,034 when you're in a place like Endurance. 807 00:53:23,117 --> 00:53:27,371 I would plan to drive as far down as we need to drive. 808 00:53:27,455 --> 00:53:29,582 FRAEMAN: The tension between scientists and engineers is 809 00:53:29,665 --> 00:53:32,084 the scientists are the ones who want to do the crazy thing. 810 00:53:32,168 --> 00:53:33,878 You know, "I want to drive at this 811 00:53:33,961 --> 00:53:36,464 35-degree slope because that rock is so interesting," 812 00:53:36,547 --> 00:53:38,591 and the engineers are the ones who say, 813 00:53:38,674 --> 00:53:40,509 "No, no, that's not safe. You can't do that. 814 00:53:40,593 --> 00:53:42,553 This thing you want to do is completely bananas." 815 00:53:42,637 --> 00:53:47,183 Frankly, if we can't climb pretty reliably up these rocks, 816 00:53:47,266 --> 00:53:50,102 we're not going into this crater. 817 00:53:52,813 --> 00:53:55,066 STROUPE: So we built a big test bed 818 00:53:55,149 --> 00:53:58,319 with basically a full-scale model of the rover. 819 00:53:59,403 --> 00:54:01,530 MAN: Oh, little slippage here. 820 00:54:01,614 --> 00:54:03,741 STROUPE: We tried to simulate the geometry. 821 00:54:03,824 --> 00:54:05,826 We tried to simulate the soil. 822 00:54:05,910 --> 00:54:07,912 (indistinct chatter) 823 00:54:07,995 --> 00:54:10,206 TREBI-OLLENNU: You know, the first time you go to test bed 824 00:54:10,289 --> 00:54:12,333 and you just drive straight up, 825 00:54:12,416 --> 00:54:13,542 it comes straight down. (laughs) 826 00:54:13,626 --> 00:54:16,003 (groaning) 827 00:54:17,088 --> 00:54:18,422 STROUPE: So we inched our way down. 828 00:54:18,506 --> 00:54:20,633 Or I guess, you know, we should use metric. 829 00:54:20,716 --> 00:54:22,176 We centimetered our way down. 830 00:54:22,259 --> 00:54:24,845 (whirring, beeping) 831 00:54:24,929 --> 00:54:27,598 Very carefully planning the drive 832 00:54:27,682 --> 00:54:30,518 to keep Opportunity from getting into too much trouble. 833 00:54:38,192 --> 00:54:40,569 (quiet chatter) 834 00:54:40,653 --> 00:54:42,863 MAN: Did we clear it? 835 00:54:42,947 --> 00:54:46,450 STROUPE: So we came back in the next morning and looked at the images, 836 00:54:46,534 --> 00:54:50,371 and you could hear the gasp from different parts of the room. 837 00:54:51,455 --> 00:54:54,250 The surface around the side of the crater 838 00:54:54,333 --> 00:54:58,004 wasn't as grippy as we'd hoped it was, and she apparently started 839 00:54:58,087 --> 00:54:59,880 sliding down the hill... 840 00:54:59,964 --> 00:55:01,340 (buzzing) 841 00:55:01,424 --> 00:55:04,176 ...towards this giant boulder. 842 00:55:04,260 --> 00:55:06,178 (alarm beeping) 843 00:55:06,262 --> 00:55:09,223 ♪ ♪ 844 00:55:12,476 --> 00:55:16,355 STROUPE: But we have something called autonomy built into the rovers. 845 00:55:19,108 --> 00:55:21,402 We allow the rover to think for itself. 846 00:55:22,486 --> 00:55:28,701 Because the rover knows more about the situation on Mars than we do. 847 00:55:29,869 --> 00:55:32,121 STROUPE: So, when Opportunity went down into the crater... 848 00:55:35,541 --> 00:55:38,419 ...she noticed that she was sliding too much downhill 849 00:55:38,502 --> 00:55:41,797 and stopped just centimeters 850 00:55:41,881 --> 00:55:44,925 from the tip of her solar panel. 851 00:55:46,052 --> 00:55:49,055 That short of crashing into this giant rock. 852 00:55:50,139 --> 00:55:53,225 Which could've been mission-ending for Opportunity. 853 00:55:55,394 --> 00:55:59,523 We all had heart attacks, but her autonomy saved us. 854 00:56:00,900 --> 00:56:03,569 And we were so proud of our lucky rover. 855 00:56:09,408 --> 00:56:11,410 SQUYRES: With Opportunity, 856 00:56:11,494 --> 00:56:15,372 we had a big, big, big photo printed. 857 00:56:15,456 --> 00:56:19,543 It was a north-to-south strip that was acquired from orbit. 858 00:56:19,627 --> 00:56:22,296 And it showed Eagle Crater where we landed, 859 00:56:22,379 --> 00:56:25,841 Endurance Crater where Opportunity was, 860 00:56:25,925 --> 00:56:28,219 and we rolled it out on a table. 861 00:56:30,137 --> 00:56:33,099 Way, way down at the end, there was this big crater, 862 00:56:33,182 --> 00:56:36,060 you know, kilometers to the south, that we named Victoria Crater. 863 00:56:42,149 --> 00:56:44,151 ELLISON: And I know it's ridiculous 864 00:56:44,235 --> 00:56:46,904 to take a mission that was supposed to be three months and go, 865 00:56:46,987 --> 00:56:48,823 "So, we've got this crater. 866 00:56:48,906 --> 00:56:51,117 We think it'll maybe take two years to get there." 867 00:56:52,201 --> 00:56:53,911 But we did it anyway. 868 00:56:53,994 --> 00:56:56,122 So, first things first. 869 00:56:58,582 --> 00:57:00,334 ♪ Ow! ♪ 870 00:57:00,417 --> 00:57:02,837 ("Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and The Waves playing) 871 00:57:02,920 --> 00:57:04,922 (laughter) 872 00:57:05,005 --> 00:57:07,174 ♪ Hey, yeah ♪ 873 00:57:08,342 --> 00:57:11,178 (over speaker): ♪ I used to think maybe you loved me ♪ 874 00:57:11,262 --> 00:57:14,265 ♪ Now, baby, I'm sure ♪ 875 00:57:16,684 --> 00:57:18,561 ♪ And I just can't wait... ♪ 876 00:57:18,644 --> 00:57:23,107 MANNING: So, Victoria Crater was miles away. 877 00:57:23,190 --> 00:57:24,400 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 878 00:57:24,483 --> 00:57:28,696 ♪ I'm walking on sunshine, whoa-oh ♪ 879 00:57:28,779 --> 00:57:30,906 ♪ I'm walking on sunshine... ♪ 880 00:57:30,990 --> 00:57:32,616 MANNING: But it was a pretty clear shot. 881 00:57:32,700 --> 00:57:34,410 There's no hills or mountains in the way. 882 00:57:35,494 --> 00:57:37,538 Just these ripples of dust. 883 00:57:37,621 --> 00:57:39,165 ♪ And don't it feel good ♪ 884 00:57:39,248 --> 00:57:40,583 ♪ Hey... ♪ 885 00:57:40,666 --> 00:57:43,460 TREBI-OLLENNU: So we do what we call blind driving. 886 00:57:44,545 --> 00:57:46,172 ♪ Oh, yeah ♪ 887 00:57:46,255 --> 00:57:48,716 ♪ And don't it feel good... ♪ 888 00:57:48,799 --> 00:57:50,509 So we told Opportunity, 889 00:57:50,593 --> 00:57:52,928 "You're blindfolded. Trust me. Keep going." 890 00:57:53,012 --> 00:57:55,431 ♪ I feel the love, I feel the love that's really real ♪ 891 00:57:55,514 --> 00:57:58,726 ♪ I feel alive, I feel the love, I feel the love that's really real... ♪ 892 00:57:58,809 --> 00:58:01,854 TREBI-OLLENNU: And with blind drive, the way we count progress 893 00:58:01,937 --> 00:58:04,356 is the number of wheel turns. 894 00:58:04,440 --> 00:58:07,735 ♪ I'm walking on sunshine, whoa-oh ♪ 895 00:58:07,818 --> 00:58:09,737 ♪ I'm walking on sunshine... ♪ 896 00:58:09,820 --> 00:58:12,323 MANNING: So, the wheels had turned on the drive. 897 00:58:12,406 --> 00:58:14,950 ♪ I'm walking on sunshine... ♪ 898 00:58:15,034 --> 00:58:16,785 But to our shock... 899 00:58:16,869 --> 00:58:19,747 -♪ And don't it feel good. ♪ -(song ends) 900 00:58:19,830 --> 00:58:21,957 ...Oppy hadn't moved at all. 901 00:58:22,041 --> 00:58:23,667 (whirring) 902 00:58:23,751 --> 00:58:25,002 MAN: This is the previous day. 903 00:58:25,085 --> 00:58:26,921 MAN 2: Went to exactly where it got stuck. 904 00:58:27,004 --> 00:58:30,633 It literally didn't make much more progress after about this point. 905 00:58:30,716 --> 00:58:33,302 But the rover thought it was executing its plan 906 00:58:33,385 --> 00:58:35,512 as though it were all the way down here. 907 00:58:35,596 --> 00:58:40,893 VERMA: So, the entire day, Opportunity was just spinning its wheels in place 908 00:58:40,976 --> 00:58:43,938 and digging itself deeper and deeper and deeper. 909 00:58:44,021 --> 00:58:46,023 (beeping, whirring) 910 00:58:56,200 --> 00:58:58,327 ELLISON: There's no book that's, you know, "Chapter Four: 911 00:58:58,410 --> 00:59:00,621 Extracting Mars Rovers from Sand Dunes." 912 00:59:00,704 --> 00:59:05,084 So we built a copy of the sand dune at JPL, stuck her over it. 913 00:59:06,877 --> 00:59:09,588 TREBI-OLLENNU: From an engineering perspective, it was exciting... 914 00:59:09,672 --> 00:59:10,923 (chuckles) 915 00:59:11,006 --> 00:59:12,841 ...because we like... we-we like a challenge. 916 00:59:14,510 --> 00:59:16,762 So it's almost like quicksand. 917 00:59:16,845 --> 00:59:21,517 And we spent six weeks trying to learn how to extricate Opportunity. 918 00:59:22,851 --> 00:59:27,564 STROUPE: But the soil had no friction on it at all. 919 00:59:27,648 --> 00:59:30,150 It was almost like trying to drive through cake flour. 920 00:59:32,736 --> 00:59:37,032 ELLISON: The engineers decided the only chance is stick it in reverse and gun it. 921 00:59:47,418 --> 00:59:49,420 (whirring) 922 00:59:56,427 --> 00:59:59,013 But on Mars, it was getting worse. 923 00:59:59,096 --> 01:00:00,806 It looked like we were getting even deeper. 924 01:00:01,890 --> 01:00:03,600 This could be fatal. 925 01:00:05,728 --> 01:00:08,439 NARRATOR: Sol 483. 926 01:00:08,522 --> 01:00:11,150 Power has dropped substantially. 927 01:00:11,233 --> 01:00:14,611 At the moment, we're just keeping our nose above water. 928 01:00:24,455 --> 01:00:26,457 (whirring) 929 01:00:33,005 --> 01:00:35,007 ♪ ♪ 930 01:00:41,013 --> 01:00:43,015 NARRATOR: Sol 484. 931 01:00:44,516 --> 01:00:47,102 Long-term drive options are now back. 932 01:00:47,186 --> 01:00:49,063 (cheering, applause) 933 01:00:55,069 --> 01:00:57,488 MANNING: We said, "Okay, let's be a little bit more conservative 934 01:00:57,571 --> 01:01:00,115 about our driving from here on out." (chuckles) 935 01:01:00,199 --> 01:01:02,493 And so we carefully drove south, 936 01:01:02,576 --> 01:01:05,371 and we finally eventually made it to Victoria Crater. 937 01:01:12,294 --> 01:01:14,254 SQUYRES: There was a group of us 938 01:01:14,338 --> 01:01:17,299 sitting around a table drinking margaritas at a party. 939 01:01:19,093 --> 01:01:22,679 And somebody came up with the idea, "Hey, let's have a bet." 940 01:01:22,763 --> 01:01:24,431 Picked up a cocktail napkin, 941 01:01:24,515 --> 01:01:26,517 and we all wrote down our names. 942 01:01:26,600 --> 01:01:29,561 And everybody had to put in 20 bucks. 943 01:01:29,645 --> 01:01:32,231 MANNING: We said, "Okay. Who believes that 944 01:01:32,314 --> 01:01:34,983 zero, one or two rovers are alive next year?" 945 01:01:36,193 --> 01:01:39,613 SQUYRES: We kept that same cocktail napkin, 946 01:01:39,696 --> 01:01:43,867 and we did it year after year after year after year. 947 01:01:46,120 --> 01:01:51,542 MANNING: And every year, Steve Squyres, the project's principal scientist, 948 01:01:51,625 --> 01:01:55,003 voted that both rovers would be dead in the next year. 949 01:01:55,087 --> 01:01:59,591 My logic being that someday I would eventually win, 950 01:01:59,675 --> 01:02:03,220 and when I did win, it would cheer me up at a time when I'd be feeling sad. 951 01:02:03,303 --> 01:02:05,305 (indistinct chatter) 952 01:02:05,389 --> 01:02:09,560 MANNING: I voted just the opposite-- that both rovers would still be alive. 953 01:02:11,145 --> 01:02:15,023 So, actually, I did pretty well through the years in these bets. 954 01:02:23,031 --> 01:02:24,825 (whirring) 955 01:02:24,908 --> 01:02:28,829 SQUYRES: At this point, Spirit, our kind of hardworking blue-collar rover, 956 01:02:28,912 --> 01:02:31,206 was exploring the Columbia Hills. 957 01:02:33,250 --> 01:02:36,295 But she had been having mechanical problems. 958 01:02:40,716 --> 01:02:43,886 And then the right front wheel failed. 959 01:02:46,805 --> 01:02:49,892 -The five-wheel, five-wheel drive. -MAN: Okay. 960 01:02:52,853 --> 01:02:56,398 STROUPE: Somebody said, "This is a lot like that grocery cart 961 01:02:56,482 --> 01:02:59,985 with the stuck wheel that's easier to pull than push." 962 01:03:01,403 --> 01:03:03,864 We're like, "Pull! Yes, let's go backwards." 963 01:03:08,911 --> 01:03:12,956 ELLISON: So, Spirit slowly drove backwards through Columbia Hills, 964 01:03:13,040 --> 01:03:16,210 dragging this broken wheel as it went. 965 01:03:17,252 --> 01:03:20,964 And it was awful because winter was coming. 966 01:03:21,048 --> 01:03:23,383 ♪ ♪ 967 01:03:26,970 --> 01:03:32,017 BOYKINS: So, a Martian winter is twice as long as it is on Earth. 968 01:03:33,268 --> 01:03:35,687 (shuddering): So it gets really cold. 969 01:03:35,771 --> 01:03:40,609 It gets so cold that you have to use much of your energy 970 01:03:40,692 --> 01:03:43,946 to keep all of your hardware above a certain temperature, 971 01:03:44,029 --> 01:03:45,864 or it's likely to break. 972 01:03:47,157 --> 01:03:50,285 SQUYRES: At the Spirit site, we desperately needed a way 973 01:03:50,369 --> 01:03:53,205 to tilt the solar arrays towards the sun. 974 01:03:54,373 --> 01:03:58,710 But the only way to do that was to tilt the entire vehicle. 975 01:03:59,795 --> 01:04:01,797 ♪ ♪ 976 01:04:10,264 --> 01:04:12,849 Spirit would have to climb backwards 977 01:04:12,933 --> 01:04:16,687 up this rocky, rugged terrain... 978 01:04:19,231 --> 01:04:22,109 ...to stay alive all through the winter. 979 01:04:23,151 --> 01:04:25,153 (beeping) 980 01:04:30,576 --> 01:04:32,578 And it's not just the seasons. 981 01:04:32,661 --> 01:04:34,913 You've also got things like dust storms. 982 01:04:36,707 --> 01:04:39,793 SQUYRES: Sometimes dust storms will blow up into a global storm. 983 01:04:41,003 --> 01:04:44,673 And this one hit Opportunity the hardest. 984 01:04:47,092 --> 01:04:49,928 -NARRATOR: Sol 1,226. -(thunder crashes) 985 01:04:50,971 --> 01:04:53,807 Opportunity has been fighting for her life. 986 01:04:55,183 --> 01:04:58,937 Mars took off its gloves and pounded the Opportunity site 987 01:04:59,021 --> 01:05:01,648 with record high levels of dust in the sky. 988 01:05:01,732 --> 01:05:03,150 ♪ ♪ 989 01:05:03,233 --> 01:05:05,569 (thunder crashes) 990 01:05:08,447 --> 01:05:12,618 STROUPE: So we had to tweak the rover's onboard decision-making process 991 01:05:12,701 --> 01:05:15,495 so that when the power started getting too low... 992 01:05:17,873 --> 01:05:22,044 ...Opportunity could shut herself down to preserve her batteries. 993 01:05:29,009 --> 01:05:30,844 (indistinct radio chatter) 994 01:05:30,927 --> 01:05:32,554 STROUPE: Nobody wanted to say out loud 995 01:05:32,638 --> 01:05:35,015 that we thought the mission could end at any moment. 996 01:05:37,184 --> 01:05:39,978 We could see the dust storm. We could track it from orbit. 997 01:05:42,731 --> 01:05:46,234 But it took weeks before it started to clear. 998 01:05:48,028 --> 01:05:52,324 The original time that was, uh, predicted for the data to come down 999 01:05:52,407 --> 01:05:57,037 was 12... 20:40 UTC, but we are a bit tight. 1000 01:05:57,120 --> 01:06:01,249 So we actually had a lot of suggestions on morning wake-up songs today, 1001 01:06:01,333 --> 01:06:05,253 so I thought I would just continue to play them as we get the data. 1002 01:06:05,337 --> 01:06:08,131 (indistinct chatter) 1003 01:06:10,008 --> 01:06:13,053 ("Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles playing) 1004 01:06:18,350 --> 01:06:20,977 STROUPE: And then we just had to wait and see 1005 01:06:21,061 --> 01:06:22,979 if we were gonna survive. 1006 01:06:24,481 --> 01:06:26,316 ♪ Here comes the sun ♪ 1007 01:06:26,400 --> 01:06:28,443 ♪ Doo-da-doo-doo ♪ 1008 01:06:28,527 --> 01:06:30,487 ♪ Here comes the sun ♪ 1009 01:06:30,570 --> 01:06:33,448 ♪ And I say it's all right ♪ 1010 01:06:37,327 --> 01:06:39,162 ♪ Little darling ♪ 1011 01:06:39,246 --> 01:06:43,500 ♪ It's been a long cold lonely winter ♪ 1012 01:06:44,751 --> 01:06:46,628 ♪ Little darling ♪ 1013 01:06:46,712 --> 01:06:51,133 ♪ It feels like years since it's been here ♪ 1014 01:06:52,467 --> 01:06:54,261 ♪ Here comes the sun ♪ 1015 01:06:54,344 --> 01:06:56,096 ♪ Doo-da-doo-doo ♪ 1016 01:06:56,179 --> 01:06:58,306 -♪ Here comes the sun ♪ -(beeping) 1017 01:06:58,390 --> 01:07:01,560 ♪ And I say it's all right ♪ 1018 01:07:01,643 --> 01:07:03,645 (whirring) 1019 01:07:05,313 --> 01:07:07,149 ♪ Little darling ♪ 1020 01:07:07,232 --> 01:07:10,444 ♪ The smile's returning to the faces ♪ 1021 01:07:10,527 --> 01:07:12,612 (cheering) 1022 01:07:12,696 --> 01:07:15,782 ♪ Little darling, it seems like years... ♪ 1023 01:07:15,866 --> 01:07:18,326 ELLISON: I don't think anyone expected the rovers 1024 01:07:18,410 --> 01:07:20,620 to survive all these disasters. 1025 01:07:20,704 --> 01:07:22,706 ♪ Here comes the sun ♪ 1026 01:07:24,332 --> 01:07:26,251 ♪ Here comes the sun... ♪ 1027 01:07:26,334 --> 01:07:28,336 You get this feeling of-- 1028 01:07:28,420 --> 01:07:30,964 there's nothing Mars can do to us at this point. 1029 01:07:31,047 --> 01:07:33,383 Like, we've survived everything. We're basically invincible. 1030 01:07:33,467 --> 01:07:37,012 ♪ Here comes the sun, doo-da-doo-doo... ♪ 1031 01:07:37,095 --> 01:07:39,222 But the mission wasn't done. 1032 01:07:40,307 --> 01:07:44,644 We were still hoping we would find a place where life could have arisen, 1033 01:07:44,728 --> 01:07:48,732 with neutral-pH water, with water you maybe could even have drunk. 1034 01:07:48,815 --> 01:07:50,817 (song ends) 1035 01:07:50,901 --> 01:07:52,903 (wind whistling softly) 1036 01:07:55,781 --> 01:07:57,699 (cheering, applause) 1037 01:07:57,783 --> 01:07:59,034 Thank you. 1038 01:07:59,117 --> 01:08:00,535 -Dr. Squyres. -Nice to be here. 1039 01:08:00,619 --> 01:08:02,621 -Thank you so much for joining us. -Yeah. 1040 01:08:02,704 --> 01:08:07,000 Now, um, this is a model of one of the rovers that's on Mars right now. 1041 01:08:07,083 --> 01:08:08,460 -That's right. -Which... Is this... 1042 01:08:08,543 --> 01:08:09,878 Is this, uh, Spirit or Opportunity? 1043 01:08:09,961 --> 01:08:11,171 SQUYRES: Uh, they're basically identical twins, 1044 01:08:11,254 --> 01:08:12,881 -so they look the same. -So you can't tell the difference 1045 01:08:12,964 --> 01:08:14,174 -between your two children. -Uh... 1046 01:08:14,257 --> 01:08:15,717 You're a terrible father is what you're saying. 1047 01:08:15,801 --> 01:08:17,093 -(laughs) -(audience laughing) 1048 01:08:17,177 --> 01:08:18,303 Um... 1049 01:08:18,386 --> 01:08:20,972 SQUYRES: So, Spirit and Opportunity's mission 1050 01:08:21,056 --> 01:08:26,102 had kind of taken on a life of its own with the public. 1051 01:08:27,562 --> 01:08:30,315 The traffic once again is heavy today on Mars. 1052 01:08:30,398 --> 01:08:32,609 Rovers Spirit and Opportunity still at it. 1053 01:08:32,692 --> 01:08:34,820 So far, they have traveled nine and a quarter miles 1054 01:08:34,903 --> 01:08:37,572 and captured more than 156,000 images. 1055 01:08:38,657 --> 01:08:40,450 SQUYRES: NASA does a lot of 1056 01:08:40,534 --> 01:08:42,327 wonderful things in space science. 1057 01:08:42,410 --> 01:08:45,330 But try to explain gamma-ray spectroscopy 1058 01:08:45,413 --> 01:08:47,290 to an eight-year-old-- it's hard. 1059 01:08:49,709 --> 01:08:52,254 But a robot geologist-- 1060 01:08:52,337 --> 01:08:55,048 anybody could sort of understand what it was about. 1061 01:08:56,842 --> 01:08:59,302 And now exploration and adventure 1062 01:08:59,386 --> 01:09:02,931 can become a very large shared human experience. 1063 01:09:03,014 --> 01:09:04,182 (whirring) 1064 01:09:04,266 --> 01:09:06,393 MAN: What is he doing? 1065 01:09:06,476 --> 01:09:08,979 MANNING: The rovers became a phenomenon. 1066 01:09:11,106 --> 01:09:14,276 They represented exploration and curiosity and interest in the world. 1067 01:09:14,359 --> 01:09:17,070 Godspeed to the Mars rover, wherever you are tonight. 1068 01:09:17,153 --> 01:09:19,072 MANNING: And the more these rovers lasted 1069 01:09:19,155 --> 01:09:21,867 and the more promise of future discovery... 1070 01:09:21,950 --> 01:09:23,535 Elbow. Has a wrist. 1071 01:09:23,618 --> 01:09:27,914 MANNING: ...people around the world were becoming really attached to these rovers. 1072 01:09:30,083 --> 01:09:32,711 STROUPE: But I don't think any of us fully realized 1073 01:09:32,794 --> 01:09:37,549 the impact that we were having on the public until Spirit got stuck. 1074 01:09:42,512 --> 01:09:45,140 TROSPER: My alter ego, Spirit, had a problem. 1075 01:09:48,810 --> 01:09:51,479 She already had a broken wheel, 1076 01:09:51,563 --> 01:09:54,482 and she had gotten a little bit embedded. 1077 01:09:56,359 --> 01:10:01,072 And then another wheel broke, and it was getting close to winter. 1078 01:10:01,156 --> 01:10:03,992 (beeps, whirs) 1079 01:10:04,075 --> 01:10:08,997 But I figured, knowing Spirit, that she'd figure it out. 1080 01:10:09,080 --> 01:10:11,541 ♪ ♪ 1081 01:10:11,625 --> 01:10:14,294 STROUPE: This mound of rocks, 1082 01:10:14,377 --> 01:10:17,964 this may be what we're hung on right there. 1083 01:10:18,965 --> 01:10:22,761 And both on Mars and in the test bed, as we drive, it does sink. 1084 01:10:24,721 --> 01:10:29,726 This first slide here just is an overview of the energy requirements for Spirit. 1085 01:10:29,809 --> 01:10:34,522 Um, the numbers in red are the ones where we won't have enough energy 1086 01:10:34,606 --> 01:10:37,609 to survive for an extended period of time. 1087 01:10:38,902 --> 01:10:41,363 STROUPE: So now it was really a race against the clock. 1088 01:10:41,446 --> 01:10:46,117 We were making very slow progress, but we had to try and try to beat winter. 1089 01:10:46,201 --> 01:10:51,623 And we started getting letters and phone calls from the public. 1090 01:10:52,916 --> 01:10:55,001 This real sense of, you know, 1091 01:10:55,085 --> 01:10:58,588 we have to do whatever it takes to save Spirit. 1092 01:11:02,175 --> 01:11:05,220 VERMA: And the public called this campaign "Free Spirit." 1093 01:11:06,972 --> 01:11:08,598 And it showed us that 1094 01:11:08,682 --> 01:11:14,396 humans are capable of forming a connection and a bond to a robot. 1095 01:11:15,730 --> 01:11:19,025 NARRATOR: Sol 2,196. 1096 01:11:19,109 --> 01:11:22,028 Spirit has been prepared for her winter sleep. 1097 01:11:23,113 --> 01:11:25,156 She is tucked into bed, 1098 01:11:25,240 --> 01:11:30,203 and now we all watch carefully for the signal or lack thereof. 1099 01:11:32,914 --> 01:11:35,583 BOYKINS: As the rover starts to get hypothermia, 1100 01:11:35,667 --> 01:11:37,711 she can't communicate anymore. 1101 01:11:41,297 --> 01:11:44,092 And then she either wakes up the next morning 1102 01:11:44,175 --> 01:11:46,261 or she doesn't wake up at all. 1103 01:11:51,599 --> 01:11:54,769 When the sun came back up, 1104 01:11:54,853 --> 01:11:58,565 we'd listen, we try to hear 1105 01:11:58,648 --> 01:12:01,609 a whisper, a tone. 1106 01:12:01,693 --> 01:12:03,194 Anything. 1107 01:12:04,946 --> 01:12:06,364 And we don't. 1108 01:12:11,244 --> 01:12:14,414 It did feel like we were, 1109 01:12:14,497 --> 01:12:17,459 you know, watching a friend go, in a lot of ways. 1110 01:12:19,377 --> 01:12:23,048 I know people think it's weird 'cause I sound like I'm talking about a person, 1111 01:12:23,131 --> 01:12:25,800 but even though she wasn't a person, 1112 01:12:25,884 --> 01:12:28,762 it was still a huge part of all of our lives. 1113 01:12:31,681 --> 01:12:34,392 TROSPER: Spirit was our rugged and adventurous rover, 1114 01:12:34,476 --> 01:12:37,979 and her environment required more of her. 1115 01:12:38,063 --> 01:12:40,482 And so maybe it's just because I was Spirit's mission manager 1116 01:12:40,565 --> 01:12:42,484 and I wanted her to be like me, but... 1117 01:12:43,777 --> 01:12:47,238 ...I feel like I connected with Spirit in that way. 1118 01:12:52,994 --> 01:12:55,413 You know, maybe she was just a little tired, too, 1119 01:12:55,497 --> 01:12:57,582 after all her hard work. 1120 01:12:57,665 --> 01:12:59,667 ♪ ♪ 1121 01:13:16,601 --> 01:13:19,479 SQUYRES: At any rate, if we can get something like 1122 01:13:19,562 --> 01:13:22,482 a hundred meters out of today's drive, 1123 01:13:22,565 --> 01:13:24,442 just project that line that you see... 1124 01:13:24,526 --> 01:13:27,403 MANNING: So, by this time, only a handful of people 1125 01:13:27,487 --> 01:13:30,365 who were on the design originally are still left on the team. 1126 01:13:31,574 --> 01:13:36,162 So we're in another generation of engineers who are operating Opportunity. 1127 01:13:37,163 --> 01:13:39,165 ♪ ♪ 1128 01:13:40,708 --> 01:13:43,044 SIEGFRIEDT: Never in a million years did I think 1129 01:13:43,128 --> 01:13:44,921 I would be able to work on Opportunity. 1130 01:13:47,757 --> 01:13:52,178 When I was in eighth grade, I saw this news story 1131 01:13:52,262 --> 01:13:54,597 of Spirit and Opportunity landing. 1132 01:13:56,599 --> 01:13:58,143 I was just some small-town girl 1133 01:13:58,226 --> 01:14:00,019 in the middle of nowhere in Texas. 1134 01:14:01,104 --> 01:14:03,648 But I knew that's what I wanted to do. 1135 01:14:03,731 --> 01:14:06,192 I wanted to help find life on other planets. 1136 01:14:09,571 --> 01:14:11,406 MOOGEGA COOPER: When I was about 17, 1137 01:14:11,489 --> 01:14:14,742 there was a naming contest for Spirit and Opportunity. 1138 01:14:14,826 --> 01:14:17,078 (laughs) 1139 01:14:17,162 --> 01:14:19,372 I ended up submitting the names 1140 01:14:19,455 --> 01:14:21,124 Romulus and Remus. 1141 01:14:22,417 --> 01:14:25,753 Their father was Mars, the god of war. 1142 01:14:27,005 --> 01:14:31,092 I don't know what I was thinking, but... 1143 01:14:31,176 --> 01:14:36,097 that is when my brain was completely turned on to Mars and space exploration... 1144 01:14:38,558 --> 01:14:42,478 ...and eventually led me to NASA's Mars program. 1145 01:14:44,480 --> 01:14:47,108 SIEGFRIEDT: When I first started at JPL, 1146 01:14:47,192 --> 01:14:49,986 Opportunity was this older rover 1147 01:14:50,069 --> 01:14:52,197 that was in her extended, extended 1148 01:14:52,280 --> 01:14:53,823 times a thousand mission. (chuckles) 1149 01:14:54,908 --> 01:14:58,953 But she is the reason I started aerospace engineering. 1150 01:14:59,037 --> 01:15:03,291 I knew Opportunity was the place I wanted to start my career. 1151 01:15:03,374 --> 01:15:06,377 All stations, this is your TDL. 1152 01:15:06,461 --> 01:15:09,547 We will begin the downlink briefing in about five minutes. 1153 01:15:12,675 --> 01:15:14,677 (beeping, whirring) 1154 01:15:20,350 --> 01:15:23,561 SQUYRES: Now that Spirit's gone, 1155 01:15:23,645 --> 01:15:26,606 there's this-- what do we do next with Opportunity? 1156 01:15:28,358 --> 01:15:31,486 Do we just kind of noodle around till the wheels fall off? 1157 01:15:31,569 --> 01:15:35,073 Or do we put our foot on the gas and just go as fast as we can 1158 01:15:35,156 --> 01:15:38,493 and try to reach that big crater next? 1159 01:15:40,870 --> 01:15:43,122 STROUPE: Miles and miles away, 1160 01:15:43,206 --> 01:15:46,918 this huge crater called Endeavour. 1161 01:15:47,001 --> 01:15:48,795 It would have the oldest rocks 1162 01:15:48,878 --> 01:15:52,131 that Opportunity would've been able to look at so far. 1163 01:15:53,383 --> 01:15:55,718 But it was many years away. 1164 01:15:56,719 --> 01:15:59,722 And we might not make it, but it was where the next good stuff was, 1165 01:15:59,806 --> 01:16:01,557 so we might as well try. 1166 01:16:03,309 --> 01:16:06,271 NARRATOR: Sol 1,784. 1167 01:16:09,357 --> 01:16:12,277 Opportunity has been trekking toward Endeavour Crater, 1168 01:16:12,360 --> 01:16:16,781 driving as frequently and for as long as possible. 1169 01:16:17,865 --> 01:16:20,618 This week, she won the reverse galactic lottery 1170 01:16:20,702 --> 01:16:22,870 -and was struck by lightning. -(thunder cracks) 1171 01:16:22,954 --> 01:16:24,372 Sort of. 1172 01:16:24,455 --> 01:16:29,585 She got hit by a cosmic ray that stalled her for a few days. 1173 01:16:29,669 --> 01:16:34,382 But she is okay and back to driving. 1174 01:16:34,465 --> 01:16:36,759 Sol 2,042. 1175 01:16:41,097 --> 01:16:44,017 Opportunity seems to have become a meteorite hunter. 1176 01:16:44,100 --> 01:16:47,103 She has discovered three meteorites so far 1177 01:16:47,186 --> 01:16:49,188 on her journey to Endeavour. 1178 01:16:51,983 --> 01:16:54,360 Sol 2,213. 1179 01:16:55,570 --> 01:16:58,197 -Oppy is in her fourth winter on Mars -(wind whistling) 1180 01:16:58,281 --> 01:17:00,867 and the coldest yet. 1181 01:17:00,950 --> 01:17:04,996 So, in order to save energy, the rover is sleeping more 1182 01:17:05,079 --> 01:17:07,373 to keep her electronics warm. 1183 01:17:09,250 --> 01:17:11,919 ELLISON: So we're sprinting and we're sprinting and we're sprinting. 1184 01:17:12,003 --> 01:17:15,048 Some days getting great distance, some days not going very far at all, 1185 01:17:15,131 --> 01:17:17,008 but we keep going. 1186 01:17:21,137 --> 01:17:26,267 NARRATOR: Opportunity is only about two kilometers away from Endeavour Crater. 1187 01:17:26,351 --> 01:17:29,312 She'll make landfall at Spirit Point, 1188 01:17:29,395 --> 01:17:32,940 named in honor of Oppy's silent sister. 1189 01:17:36,944 --> 01:17:40,656 ANNOUNCER: Welcome to the very first Mars Marathon 1190 01:17:40,740 --> 01:17:42,909 here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 1191 01:17:42,992 --> 01:17:45,578 (cheering, applause) 1192 01:17:45,661 --> 01:17:50,625 The Opportunity rover has achieved a marathon's distance on Mars 1193 01:17:50,708 --> 01:17:52,585 just a week and a half ago. 1194 01:17:52,668 --> 01:17:54,670 (cheering) 1195 01:17:56,130 --> 01:17:58,758 ANNOUNCER: Congratulations, everyone! 1196 01:17:58,841 --> 01:18:01,761 BOYKINS: So, at this point, we have 1197 01:18:01,844 --> 01:18:06,015 well exceeded our warranty and then the extended warranty 1198 01:18:06,099 --> 01:18:07,517 and then the phone call on your phone that says, 1199 01:18:07,600 --> 01:18:09,477 "Hey, we'll give you more warranty." We've run past that, too. 1200 01:18:10,561 --> 01:18:12,563 ♪ ♪ 1201 01:18:13,564 --> 01:18:15,566 (beeping) 1202 01:18:16,943 --> 01:18:20,238 And Oppy started to show signs of age. 1203 01:18:21,989 --> 01:18:25,535 Her gray hair was the dust accumulation 1204 01:18:25,618 --> 01:18:28,663 in the crevices between the cables. 1205 01:18:33,084 --> 01:18:35,420 STROUPE: One of the shoulder joints 1206 01:18:35,503 --> 01:18:38,506 in Opportunity's arm started getting arthritis. 1207 01:18:48,057 --> 01:18:51,436 We ended up realizing that if we keep trying to move it, 1208 01:18:51,519 --> 01:18:54,564 it's gonna quit somewhere that we don't want it to be. 1209 01:18:58,693 --> 01:19:00,862 VERMA: So we just kept the arm out 1210 01:19:00,945 --> 01:19:04,157 in front of the rover for the rest of the mission. 1211 01:19:07,410 --> 01:19:10,538 And with arthritis setting in, 1212 01:19:10,621 --> 01:19:14,375 Opportunity also started to have problems with the right front wheel. 1213 01:19:18,713 --> 01:19:20,840 So, when you were driving it, you had to think 1214 01:19:20,923 --> 01:19:24,677 in terms of it always veering off and how you were gonna correct for that. 1215 01:19:30,766 --> 01:19:33,269 SIEGFRIEDT: Once she started getting older and older, 1216 01:19:33,352 --> 01:19:37,148 Oppy started losing her memory. 1217 01:19:44,363 --> 01:19:46,365 She would go to sleep. 1218 01:19:46,449 --> 01:19:49,160 (beeping) 1219 01:19:49,243 --> 01:19:52,788 And she would essentially forget all of the science information 1220 01:19:52,872 --> 01:19:55,791 and all of what she had done before she'd wake up. 1221 01:19:59,670 --> 01:20:04,217 And around the same time that Opportunity started losing her memory... 1222 01:20:06,260 --> 01:20:09,722 ...my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. 1223 01:20:09,805 --> 01:20:15,645 And to see my own grandmother become not herself anymore... 1224 01:20:16,729 --> 01:20:19,398 -A… -Bicycle. 1225 01:20:19,482 --> 01:20:24,695 ...it was one of the hardest things to go through. 1226 01:20:24,779 --> 01:20:26,781 ♪ ♪ 1227 01:20:28,115 --> 01:20:32,203 And so when I started seeing Opportunity start slipping away, too... 1228 01:20:34,121 --> 01:20:37,166 ...we had to figure out a way to operate 1229 01:20:37,250 --> 01:20:40,419 in this new paradigm of her having amnesia. 1230 01:20:43,756 --> 01:20:46,092 (whirring) 1231 01:20:46,175 --> 01:20:49,095 And we did so successfully 1232 01:20:49,178 --> 01:20:51,764 just by forcing her to stay awake. 1233 01:20:53,599 --> 01:20:55,768 So she could send us earthlings all the data 1234 01:20:55,851 --> 01:20:58,729 before she went to sleep and forgot everything she did. 1235 01:21:06,445 --> 01:21:09,615 I think Opportunity helped me to really 1236 01:21:09,699 --> 01:21:13,703 better deal with my grandmother's situation. 1237 01:21:15,955 --> 01:21:20,376 And to... to understand that part of life. 1238 01:21:25,631 --> 01:21:28,050 But she was still the perfect child. 1239 01:21:29,343 --> 01:21:33,139 And she kept trying her damnedest 1240 01:21:33,222 --> 01:21:35,433 to complete her mission, 1241 01:21:35,516 --> 01:21:39,604 to find neutral water that can support life on Mars. 1242 01:21:43,065 --> 01:21:45,067 ♪ ♪ 1243 01:21:46,193 --> 01:21:48,696 FRAEMAN: After several years of travel, 1244 01:21:48,779 --> 01:21:53,659 we finally started to see the rim of Endeavour Crater rise in the distance. 1245 01:21:53,743 --> 01:21:55,745 ♪ ♪ 1246 01:21:59,206 --> 01:22:02,001 ELLISON: And even though this thing is ten-plus miles wide... 1247 01:22:03,586 --> 01:22:06,339 ...it wasn't till we pulled up right to the edge, and suddenly... 1248 01:22:09,216 --> 01:22:10,843 ...whack! 1249 01:22:17,516 --> 01:22:20,811 FRAEMAN: When Oppy reached the rim of Endeavour, everything changed. 1250 01:22:23,397 --> 01:22:26,484 It almost felt like the start of a whole new mission. 1251 01:22:28,861 --> 01:22:31,947 It was a whole new environment to explore, 1252 01:22:32,031 --> 01:22:35,618 stepping back tens or hundreds of millions of years in time. 1253 01:22:38,913 --> 01:22:40,581 (laughing): So I loved this part of the mission. 1254 01:22:42,458 --> 01:22:44,627 NARRATOR: Sol 3,300. 1255 01:22:47,505 --> 01:22:52,968 Opportunity is feverishly working to complete analysis of the rock Esperance, 1256 01:22:53,052 --> 01:22:57,640 which may hold the clues to an ancient habitable environment. 1257 01:22:57,723 --> 01:23:00,101 (whirring) 1258 01:23:00,184 --> 01:23:01,686 (beeps) 1259 01:23:09,777 --> 01:23:12,905 This is a clay that has been intensely altered 1260 01:23:12,988 --> 01:23:15,616 by relatively neutral-pH water, 1261 01:23:15,700 --> 01:23:19,453 representing the most favorable conditions for biology 1262 01:23:19,537 --> 01:23:21,914 that Opportunity has encountered. 1263 01:23:25,292 --> 01:23:27,461 This was a huge discovery. 1264 01:23:29,088 --> 01:23:30,589 Water. 1265 01:23:30,673 --> 01:23:35,386 Drinkable, neutral water once existed on the surface of Mars. 1266 01:23:37,054 --> 01:23:39,056 ♪ ♪ 1267 01:23:42,643 --> 01:23:47,898 And not only was there water, but it could possibly sustain ancient microbial life. 1268 01:23:47,982 --> 01:23:50,359 So that is just revolutionary. 1269 01:23:52,862 --> 01:23:56,657 SQUYRES: It showed us that the really ancient Mars 1270 01:23:56,741 --> 01:24:00,035 was much more suitable for... 1271 01:24:00,119 --> 01:24:02,663 the origin of life. 1272 01:24:04,874 --> 01:24:07,334 MANNING: This was the Holy Grail. 1273 01:24:07,418 --> 01:24:09,962 This is the reason we had gone to Mars. 1274 01:24:10,963 --> 01:24:14,383 Oppy discovered Mars was 1275 01:24:14,467 --> 01:24:17,845 a wet world very much like Earth. 1276 01:24:19,180 --> 01:24:20,389 There were oceans. 1277 01:24:20,473 --> 01:24:22,808 Water played a huge role in its early history. 1278 01:24:22,892 --> 01:24:24,643 It completely altered the planet. 1279 01:24:31,400 --> 01:24:36,322 SIEGFRIEDT: And Opportunity spent years exploring Endeavour Crater, 1280 01:24:36,405 --> 01:24:40,075 making incredible discoveries that tell that story of water. 1281 01:24:42,119 --> 01:24:47,625 So we could go back in time to a planet that might actually have had life. 1282 01:24:49,210 --> 01:24:51,212 ♪ ♪ 1283 01:24:52,296 --> 01:24:56,383 BOYKINS: A lot of people ask why I think it's important to explore Mars. 1284 01:24:57,718 --> 01:25:00,763 And I think one of the things that will come out of 1285 01:25:00,846 --> 01:25:05,643 Spirit and Opportunity's legacy is some of the answers to why. 1286 01:25:07,520 --> 01:25:09,772 Mars had water. 1287 01:25:09,855 --> 01:25:11,524 What happened to that water? 1288 01:25:11,607 --> 01:25:14,401 And can we take the information and understand 1289 01:25:14,485 --> 01:25:16,487 how that could happen here on Earth? 1290 01:25:18,489 --> 01:25:21,200 And can we understand our part in that? 1291 01:25:21,283 --> 01:25:25,704 Are we doing something that can accelerate... 1292 01:25:26,789 --> 01:25:29,208 ...that change here on Earth? 1293 01:25:30,793 --> 01:25:32,878 Because that's not something you recover from. 1294 01:25:32,962 --> 01:25:34,964 ♪ ♪ 1295 01:25:41,720 --> 01:25:43,722 (whirring) 1296 01:25:55,150 --> 01:25:57,987 ELLISON: So we're 14 years into the mission, 1297 01:25:58,070 --> 01:26:00,990 and sol 5,000 only comes along once. 1298 01:26:01,073 --> 01:26:03,075 Like, it was a big landmark. 1299 01:26:04,410 --> 01:26:06,245 We've got an aging rover. 1300 01:26:06,328 --> 01:26:08,163 She's forgetful. She's arthritic. 1301 01:26:08,247 --> 01:26:10,082 Cameras are still working. 1302 01:26:10,165 --> 01:26:11,750 What can we do? 1303 01:26:12,751 --> 01:26:16,005 I jokingly said a few days before sol 5,000, 1304 01:26:16,088 --> 01:26:17,715 "We need to take a selfie." 1305 01:26:20,676 --> 01:26:24,013 FRAEMAN: So, we'd been seeing Mars through Oppy's eyes... 1306 01:26:25,431 --> 01:26:27,808 ...but we hadn't seen all of Oppy herself. 1307 01:26:28,809 --> 01:26:31,687 Not since she left the planet in 2003. 1308 01:26:31,770 --> 01:26:34,565 We've got a bit of data mining ahead of us. 1309 01:26:34,648 --> 01:26:37,192 ELLISON: So, sol 5,000 planning comes along, 1310 01:26:37,276 --> 01:26:41,572 and the science lead pipes up and says, "So, the engineering team 1311 01:26:41,655 --> 01:26:42,907 "have this request. 1312 01:26:42,990 --> 01:26:44,825 They'd like to take a selfie." 1313 01:26:44,909 --> 01:26:47,912 And you could hear a pin drop, 'cause the entire science team 1314 01:26:47,995 --> 01:26:51,415 is like, "Come again." 1315 01:26:51,498 --> 01:26:56,170 We could be using up the remaining life of the robotic arm 1316 01:26:56,253 --> 01:27:00,466 on this act of pure robotic vanity. 1317 01:27:01,884 --> 01:27:05,262 STROUPE: We tried to sell this idea to the science team. 1318 01:27:08,307 --> 01:27:12,603 But it's tricky because her shoulder was broken. 1319 01:27:12,686 --> 01:27:18,359 So we had to figure out a way to get all of the different views of the rover 1320 01:27:18,442 --> 01:27:20,653 without moving the shoulder. 1321 01:27:22,696 --> 01:27:25,824 ELLISON: It wasn't great, but it was the best we could do. 1322 01:27:27,326 --> 01:27:30,245 And I think it was almost the science team way of saying 1323 01:27:30,329 --> 01:27:32,081 thank you to the engineering team. 1324 01:27:32,164 --> 01:27:33,666 "This one's on us. 1325 01:27:33,749 --> 01:27:35,751 Take the time to take a selfie. You deserve it." 1326 01:27:35,834 --> 01:27:38,796 Like, "Let's have a look at this robot you've made dance for us." 1327 01:27:41,966 --> 01:27:43,968 (whirring) 1328 01:27:46,178 --> 01:27:48,931 (beeps, clicks) 1329 01:27:51,892 --> 01:27:55,813 And so the engineers are taking pictures from 17 different angles... 1330 01:27:55,896 --> 01:27:58,148 (beeps, clicks) 1331 01:27:58,232 --> 01:28:00,150 ...based on the little preview picture 1332 01:28:00,234 --> 01:28:02,111 of what they thought the microscope would be seeing. 1333 01:28:04,655 --> 01:28:07,116 And with Opportunity's slow, old computer... 1334 01:28:11,078 --> 01:28:13,372 ...it takes about a minute 1335 01:28:13,455 --> 01:28:15,582 just to take a picture. 1336 01:28:21,088 --> 01:28:23,090 We're like, "Refresh. There's nothing here yet. 1337 01:28:23,173 --> 01:28:24,633 "Refresh. There's nothing here yet. 1338 01:28:24,717 --> 01:28:27,302 Refresh." Bang, all the thumbnails showed up. 1339 01:28:27,386 --> 01:28:30,097 Little, tiny, 64-pixel thumbnails. 1340 01:28:32,933 --> 01:28:35,477 The images were kind of fuzzy and upside down. 1341 01:28:37,563 --> 01:28:40,024 But then we run through it... 1342 01:28:41,734 --> 01:28:44,194 ...and there's a picture of Opportunity. 1343 01:28:45,446 --> 01:28:49,116 Yes, it was little and black and white and out of focus, 1344 01:28:49,199 --> 01:28:54,371 but for the first time in, at that point, 14-plus years, 1345 01:28:54,455 --> 01:28:56,498 we saw our rover. 1346 01:28:56,582 --> 01:28:58,584 ♪ ♪ 1347 01:29:12,931 --> 01:29:15,517 (quiet chatter) 1348 01:29:17,352 --> 01:29:20,481 SIEGFRIEDT: Everybody who worked on Opportunity, 1349 01:29:20,564 --> 01:29:24,193 we'd get these emails with our Mars weather data for the day. 1350 01:29:25,486 --> 01:29:29,281 So I looked one day, and it's starting to get really dusty 1351 01:29:29,364 --> 01:29:32,034 and cloudy in the Opportunity site. 1352 01:29:32,117 --> 01:29:34,578 (typing) 1353 01:29:34,661 --> 01:29:40,125 So, this image was taken on sol 5,106, 1354 01:29:40,209 --> 01:29:43,504 and you can see the sun is a big bright spot. 1355 01:29:44,588 --> 01:29:48,550 But you can see only three sols later the sun has completely disappeared. 1356 01:29:50,219 --> 01:29:51,553 Yeah. 1357 01:29:52,888 --> 01:29:54,640 This is really scary. 1358 01:29:54,723 --> 01:29:56,725 ♪ ♪ 1359 01:29:58,185 --> 01:30:01,647 BOYKINS: There's this dust storm coming for Oppy. 1360 01:30:02,898 --> 01:30:05,734 Now, we've survived other dust storms on Mars. 1361 01:30:05,818 --> 01:30:07,444 Opportunity has survived. 1362 01:30:08,445 --> 01:30:12,407 But a few days into it, I think, uh, people began to realize 1363 01:30:12,491 --> 01:30:16,286 that it was different than anything we've ever experienced. 1364 01:30:16,370 --> 01:30:18,372 (wind howling) 1365 01:30:22,793 --> 01:30:27,005 NARRATOR: The dust storm that is affecting Opportunity has greatly intensified. 1366 01:30:31,718 --> 01:30:36,431 A spacecraft emergency was declared, anticipating a low-power fault. 1367 01:30:36,515 --> 01:30:38,517 (beeping, buzzing) 1368 01:30:56,785 --> 01:30:59,329 FRAEMAN: And then she went dark. 1369 01:31:02,666 --> 01:31:04,334 But we all said, "We know what to do. 1370 01:31:04,418 --> 01:31:06,044 "We have our little dust storm playbook, 1371 01:31:06,128 --> 01:31:08,589 "and we're gonna try everything we possibly can 1372 01:31:08,672 --> 01:31:11,049 to reestablish communication with Opportunity." 1373 01:31:12,426 --> 01:31:15,512 ELLISON: At this point, wake-up songs had kind of went away. 1374 01:31:15,596 --> 01:31:20,976 But we then brought the tradition back in the hope that maybe singing will help. 1375 01:31:21,059 --> 01:31:23,061 ♪ Jitterbug... ♪ 1376 01:31:23,145 --> 01:31:25,981 And we would play them every time we were trying to wake the rover up. 1377 01:31:26,064 --> 01:31:29,067 ♪ Wake me up before you go-go ♪ 1378 01:31:29,151 --> 01:31:32,154 ♪ Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo ♪ 1379 01:31:32,237 --> 01:31:35,073 ♪ Wake me up before you go-go ♪ 1380 01:31:35,157 --> 01:31:37,993 ♪ I don't wanna miss it when you hit that high ♪ 1381 01:31:38,076 --> 01:31:39,828 (faintly over speaker): ♪ You put the boom-boom into my heart... ♪ 1382 01:31:39,912 --> 01:31:41,038 (wind howling) 1383 01:31:41,121 --> 01:31:44,458 NARRATOR: Sol 5,176. 1384 01:31:44,541 --> 01:31:48,921 It has been over 60 sols since we lost contact with Opportunity. 1385 01:31:50,088 --> 01:31:52,633 It may be weeks before the sky is clear. 1386 01:31:52,716 --> 01:31:55,594 ♪ Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo ♪ 1387 01:31:55,677 --> 01:31:58,472 ♪ Wake me up before you go-go ♪ 1388 01:31:58,555 --> 01:32:01,850 ♪ I don't wanna miss it when you hit that high... ♪ 1389 01:32:01,934 --> 01:32:04,686 NARRATOR: Sol 5,210. 1390 01:32:04,770 --> 01:32:07,773 After almost 100 sols without contact, 1391 01:32:07,856 --> 01:32:12,361 the team is waiting with anticipation to hear from Opportunity. 1392 01:32:12,444 --> 01:32:16,323 ♪ I wanna hit that high ♪ 1393 01:32:16,406 --> 01:32:18,200 ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ 1394 01:32:18,283 --> 01:32:20,661 ♪ You take the gray skies out of my way ♪ 1395 01:32:20,744 --> 01:32:23,705 ♪ You make the sun shine brighter than Doris Day... ♪ 1396 01:32:27,793 --> 01:32:29,795 NARRATOR: It has now been more than six months 1397 01:32:29,878 --> 01:32:32,464 since last contact with Opportunity. 1398 01:32:32,547 --> 01:32:35,759 The dust storm is finally over. 1399 01:32:35,842 --> 01:32:37,970 MANNING: So, I had hopes that she would just... 1400 01:32:38,053 --> 01:32:40,806 (makes whooshing sound) ...wake up and say, "Oh, we're-we're alive." 1401 01:32:40,889 --> 01:32:43,642 ♪ Everything will be all right. ♪ 1402 01:32:43,725 --> 01:32:45,936 (song ends) 1403 01:32:46,019 --> 01:32:47,938 But it just didn't happen. 1404 01:32:49,856 --> 01:32:52,985 SIEGFRIEDT: She has autonomy on board 1405 01:32:53,068 --> 01:32:55,112 to wake up at certain times, 1406 01:32:55,195 --> 01:32:57,322 and we know when that alarm will go off, 1407 01:32:57,406 --> 01:32:59,908 so we earthlings can try and communicate with her. 1408 01:32:59,992 --> 01:33:03,954 So, every day at that time, we would try and try. 1409 01:33:09,167 --> 01:33:12,713 NARRATOR: ...we have begun commanding more aggressively. 1410 01:33:14,172 --> 01:33:18,719 We are listening every day for Opportunity to talk to us. 1411 01:33:18,802 --> 01:33:20,595 (static droning) 1412 01:33:20,679 --> 01:33:22,681 ♪ ♪ 1413 01:33:27,728 --> 01:33:32,649 SIEGFRIEDT: So, NASA declared we were gonna try one last time 1414 01:33:32,733 --> 01:33:35,569 to try and communicate with Opportunity and wake her up. 1415 01:33:44,911 --> 01:33:48,790 ELLISON: We were just staring out onto the floor of what's called the Dark Room. 1416 01:33:48,874 --> 01:33:51,376 That's where we... you know, for a decade and a half, 1417 01:33:51,460 --> 01:33:54,379 all the commands had been sent to both rovers. 1418 01:33:54,463 --> 01:33:56,465 ♪ ♪ 1419 01:34:02,012 --> 01:34:04,139 It's like, "Just wake up. 1420 01:34:04,222 --> 01:34:06,016 "We'll make it all better. 1421 01:34:08,185 --> 01:34:10,270 And we'll get back to exploring." 1422 01:34:22,449 --> 01:34:24,451 (static droning) 1423 01:34:28,205 --> 01:34:29,873 SIEGFRIEDT: Seconds go by, 1424 01:34:29,956 --> 01:34:32,959 a minute goes by, and at that point, we know. 1425 01:34:35,796 --> 01:34:40,592 FRAEMAN: And I just had the most vivid flashback 1426 01:34:40,675 --> 01:34:42,844 to landing night, 1427 01:34:42,928 --> 01:34:47,391 standing there as a 16-year-old in that same room 1428 01:34:47,474 --> 01:34:50,394 and just realizing what I wanted to do with my life. 1429 01:34:50,477 --> 01:34:52,896 -(Fraeman chuckles) -(cheering) 1430 01:35:01,988 --> 01:35:04,991 But the journey was over. 1431 01:35:07,327 --> 01:35:09,538 And it all just kind of hit me at once. 1432 01:35:16,044 --> 01:35:19,840 SQUYRES: The operations team said, "Hey, we wanted to give you the opportunity 1433 01:35:19,923 --> 01:35:22,342 to pick the final rover wake-up song." 1434 01:35:24,219 --> 01:35:26,638 I had never picked a rover wake-up song, 1435 01:35:26,721 --> 01:35:29,641 and I really wanted to pick something that felt right. 1436 01:35:31,101 --> 01:35:34,479 And in the end, the song that I picked was 1437 01:35:34,563 --> 01:35:39,151 about the ending of a relationship. 1438 01:35:39,234 --> 01:35:41,945 And it's... (stifled sobs) 1439 01:35:42,028 --> 01:35:45,240 ("I'll Be Seeing You" by Billie Holiday playing) 1440 01:35:45,323 --> 01:35:49,870 It's this feeling of gratitude for the relationship that we had. 1441 01:35:52,539 --> 01:35:55,125 (indistinct chatter over phone) 1442 01:35:55,208 --> 01:35:57,377 MER project off the net. 1443 01:35:57,461 --> 01:35:59,963 ♪ ♪ 1444 01:36:00,046 --> 01:36:07,012 ♪ I'll be seeing you ♪ 1445 01:36:07,095 --> 01:36:12,893 ♪ In all the old familiar places... ♪ 1446 01:36:13,977 --> 01:36:16,938 SQUYRES: I don't have to tell you guys we get... 1447 01:36:17,022 --> 01:36:19,232 emotionally attached to these vehicles, right? 1448 01:36:19,316 --> 01:36:24,029 I... You know, you use a word like "love" advisedly, but... (sighs) 1449 01:36:24,112 --> 01:36:25,363 we love these rovers. 1450 01:36:27,240 --> 01:36:29,576 BOYKINS: As a parent, I'm proud. 1451 01:36:30,619 --> 01:36:32,496 We rewrote the history books. 1452 01:36:33,663 --> 01:36:35,957 But as a human being, I'm really sad. 1453 01:36:36,041 --> 01:36:37,792 Because she was a friend. 1454 01:36:37,876 --> 01:36:41,880 ♪ I'll find you ♪ 1455 01:36:41,963 --> 01:36:44,382 ♪ In the morning sun ♪ 1456 01:36:44,466 --> 01:36:48,136 SQUYRES: The whole project was bound together by that feeling of love. 1457 01:36:48,220 --> 01:36:50,180 ♪ And when the night is new... ♪ 1458 01:36:50,263 --> 01:36:52,599 You're loving the rover, 1459 01:36:52,682 --> 01:36:55,101 and you're loving the people who you built it with. 1460 01:36:56,102 --> 01:36:58,813 You're loving the people who you operated it with 1461 01:36:58,897 --> 01:37:02,901 and tended it with you so lovingly for so many years. 1462 01:37:04,069 --> 01:37:06,029 ELLISON: To each and every one of us, 1463 01:37:06,112 --> 01:37:09,032 it has been the privilege of a lifetime. 1464 01:37:09,115 --> 01:37:11,284 And, uh... 1465 01:37:11,368 --> 01:37:14,329 you-you don't... you don't get an adventure like that twice. 1466 01:37:14,412 --> 01:37:21,294 ♪ I'll be seeing you... ♪ 1467 01:37:21,378 --> 01:37:24,798 NARRATOR: Sol 5,352. 1468 01:37:24,881 --> 01:37:27,634 15 years into the mission. 1469 01:37:27,717 --> 01:37:29,719 Since the very first day, 1470 01:37:29,803 --> 01:37:33,723 when she rolled herself into a hole in one at Eagle Crater, 1471 01:37:33,807 --> 01:37:39,020 Opportunity has affectionately been called the lucky rover. 1472 01:37:39,104 --> 01:37:44,943 And now, after receiving 13,744 command files 1473 01:37:45,026 --> 01:37:48,738 and lasting 5,262 sols 1474 01:37:48,822 --> 01:37:53,034 past her original retirement age of 90 sols, 1475 01:37:53,118 --> 01:37:58,498 Opportunity's incredible journey has come to its end. 1476 01:37:58,582 --> 01:38:01,001 Good night, Opportunity. 1477 01:38:01,084 --> 01:38:02,544 Well done. 1478 01:38:02,627 --> 01:38:08,883 ♪ I'll be looking at the moon ♪ 1479 01:38:08,967 --> 01:38:13,638 ♪ But I'll be ♪ 1480 01:38:13,722 --> 01:38:21,521 ♪ Seeing you. ♪ 1481 01:38:24,774 --> 01:38:26,776 (song ends) 1482 01:38:33,408 --> 01:38:36,077 BOYKINS: This arc of exploration, 1483 01:38:36,161 --> 01:38:39,581 which is anchored in Spirit and Opportunity... 1484 01:38:41,082 --> 01:38:43,960 ...now leads to the next rover. 1485 01:38:44,044 --> 01:38:45,879 ♪ ♪ 1486 01:38:45,962 --> 01:38:49,966 Perseverance will be the granddaughter of Spirit and Opportunity. 1487 01:38:51,676 --> 01:38:56,890 Her essence is built on the backbone of those rovers in front of her. 1488 01:38:57,974 --> 01:38:59,976 SIEGFRIEDT: Milo, you ready to launch the rocket? 1489 01:39:00,060 --> 01:39:02,062 (giggling) 1490 01:39:03,563 --> 01:39:04,981 ♪ ♪ 1491 01:39:06,149 --> 01:39:11,279 I became pregnant with my second child when Perseverance was getting built. 1492 01:39:14,407 --> 01:39:17,994 And it was almost like the rover was in a little NICU. 1493 01:39:19,454 --> 01:39:23,541 And we were all looking over her-- our next baby. 1494 01:39:24,793 --> 01:39:28,505 DERROL NAIL: What a beautiful morning here on the Space Coast. 1495 01:39:28,588 --> 01:39:30,757 -I'm Derrol Nail. -And I'm Moogega Cooper. 1496 01:39:30,840 --> 01:39:32,842 In the 50 minutes leading up to launch, 1497 01:39:32,926 --> 01:39:35,261 we will show you how this mission will reach 1498 01:39:35,345 --> 01:39:38,014 and search for ancient microscopic life on Mars 1499 01:39:38,098 --> 01:39:40,141 and test new technologies critical to the ultimate goal: 1500 01:39:40,225 --> 01:39:42,143 future human missions to Mars. 1501 01:39:42,227 --> 01:39:43,770 MANNING: It's part of our tradition. 1502 01:39:45,230 --> 01:39:47,315 Is open up peanuts. 1503 01:39:51,528 --> 01:39:52,946 Do you want some? 1504 01:39:53,029 --> 01:39:55,657 (indistinct chatter) 1505 01:39:58,034 --> 01:40:01,996 TREBI-OLLENNU: Some people think planetary exploration is very foreign, 1506 01:40:02,080 --> 01:40:07,085 but I always remind them, you know, when your forefathers walked the planet, 1507 01:40:07,168 --> 01:40:10,839 the first thing they did is they looked to the heavens. 1508 01:40:10,922 --> 01:40:12,465 And what did they see? 1509 01:40:12,549 --> 01:40:15,301 Constellations and stars, wonderful things. 1510 01:40:15,385 --> 01:40:17,178 What did they do with that? 1511 01:40:17,262 --> 01:40:20,640 They use the heavens... 1512 01:40:20,724 --> 01:40:23,017 to come up with a calendar, 1513 01:40:23,101 --> 01:40:26,688 to know when to plant and to know when to harvest. 1514 01:40:26,771 --> 01:40:28,732 MAN (over speaker): Flight mission, copy. It's go time. 1515 01:40:28,815 --> 01:40:31,526 TREBI-OLLENNU: And they did it from the confines of Earth. 1516 01:40:31,609 --> 01:40:36,364 So, planetary exploration has been with us from the beginning, 1517 01:40:36,448 --> 01:40:38,533 and we're using it the same way 1518 01:40:38,616 --> 01:40:40,660 that our forefathers have done for generations-- 1519 01:40:40,744 --> 01:40:43,246 to make life better on Earth. 1520 01:40:43,329 --> 01:40:45,373 MAN: Two, one, zero. 1521 01:40:45,457 --> 01:40:46,750 (rumbling) 1522 01:40:46,833 --> 01:40:48,668 Release and liftoff. 1523 01:40:52,213 --> 01:40:54,215 ♪ ♪ 1524 01:41:19,282 --> 01:41:21,284 ♪ ♪ 1525 01:41:41,805 --> 01:41:43,640 Milo, look. 1526 01:41:43,723 --> 01:41:45,809 -What is it? -Rocket. 1527 01:41:45,892 --> 01:41:48,228 -That's right. -(laughing) 1528 01:41:48,311 --> 01:41:50,939 And the rover. 1529 01:41:51,022 --> 01:41:52,565 SIEGFRIEDT: The rover. That's right. 1530 01:41:52,649 --> 01:41:54,192 The rover's inside. 1531 01:41:54,275 --> 01:41:56,277 ♪ ♪ 1532 01:42:10,166 --> 01:42:12,168 ♪ ♪ 1533 01:42:42,198 --> 01:42:44,200 ♪ ♪ 1534 01:43:14,230 --> 01:43:16,232 ♪ ♪ 1535 01:43:46,262 --> 01:43:48,264 ♪ ♪ 1536 01:44:18,294 --> 01:44:20,296 ♪ ♪ 1537 01:44:50,326 --> 01:44:52,328 (music fades)