PASADENA, Calif., May 20 (UPI) -- NASA says its Mars rover Opportunity set a record Thursday, surpassing the duration record set by NASA's Viking 1 lander of 6 years and 116 days of operation.
Opportunity's twin rover, Spirit, began working on Mars three weeks before Opportunity. However, NASA said Spirit has been out of communication since March 22. If it awakens from hibernation and resumes communication, that rover will attain the Martian surface longevity record. Spirit's hibernation was anticipated, based on energy forecasts, as the amount of sunshine hitting the robot's solar panels declined during autumn on Mars' southern hemisphere.