- News

The Mars rover Opportunity is approaching the final destination of its epic mission to explore the surface of the Mars, the rim of the huge Endeavour crater, nicknamed Spirit Point in honour of Opportunity's twin rover that became stuck in sand.

The mission was originally planned to only last three months, but Opportunity has now been rolling for over eight years, and has been described by NASA scientists as still being in good shape, despite originally landing on the surface back in 2003. The rover has already travelled more than 32km across Mars, having to travel backwards for the majority of its time, in order to preserve its front wheels.

Once at the Endeavour crater, the Opportunity rover will travel south across its rim performing a geological assessment of the location, examining the clay minerals formed under Mars' previous wet conditions. Project Manager John Callas, of the NASA jet propulsion laboratory, described how the crater "represents geology from very early in Mars history; it's understanding what happened to Mars a long time ago".

To view video footage of Opportunity moving across the Endeavour crater, recorded live from one of the rover's hazard cameras, as well as John Callas of NASA explaining the excitement of exploring the vast crater, please visit the BBC News website.

News article originally appeared on the Independent website