Planet-wide Martian dust storms end Opportunity’s 14-year mission

A regional Martian dust storm in 2018 grew into a planet-spanning veil, blocking sunlight and starving NASA’s solar-powered Opportunity rover, which had outlasted its 90-day design by nearly 15 years. Tau, a measure of atmospheric opacity, rose to about 10.5–10.8, among the highest on Mars, leaving the rover unable to recharge and ending the mission in 2019. Curiosity continued operating on a nuclear power source, illustrating the solar-versus-nuclear trade-off. Planet-wide storms are unpredictable and irregular, and while they end some missions, rovers like Perseverance—also nuclear-powered—tend to survive in the modern era. The open question remains why some Martian years produce planet-encircling storms while others do not.”,