NASA Sends Heart-Wrenching Final Message To Mars Rover As It 'Dies'

The final messages sent between NASA and its Mars rover Opportunity, which was officially declared 'dead' last week, have been revealed.

The six-wheeled vehicle was initially designed and built to last just 90 days, but it ended up carrying on with its mission for more than 15 years.

According to science journalist Jacob Margolis, Opportunity's final message sent back to Earth on 10 June last year was: "My battery is low and it's getting dark."

Margolis went on to say that NASA was hopeful that the planet's windy season would result in the dust being blown off the solar panels, which may have been what was causing it to go 'dark', however, that hasn't happened and repeated requests to contact the rover have failed.

In a press conference on 13 February, John Callas, manager of the Mars Exploration Rover project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said: "This is a hard day. Even though it's a machine and we're saying goodbye, it's still very hard and very poignant, but we had to do that. We came to that point."

Couldn't agree more, mate. I've not felt this emotional over a robot since I saw Wall-E.

And if that isn't quite enough to bring tears to your eyes, then wait until you hear the final message NASA sent to Opportunity.

According to Time, NASA scientists sent a number of songs to Opportunity in attempts to rouse it before finally accepting that it wasn't responding and sending Billie Holiday's "I'll Be Seeing You," which contains the lyrics: "I'll find you in the morning sun. And when the night is new, I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you."

via GIPHY

Paying tribute to the rover over on its official Twitter account, NASA said:

And the #ThanksOppy was used by thousands of people who also wanted to praise on the good work carried out by the rover while on its mission.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine added: "It is because of trailblazing missions such as Opportunity that there will come a day when our brave astronauts walk on the surface of Mars.

"And when that day arrives, some portion of that first footprint will be owned by the men and women of Opportunity, and a little rover that defied the odds and did so much in the name of exploration."

#ThanksOppy!

Topics: Science, mars, Nasa

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19