Opportunity Missed

   It traveled over 54 million kilometers to land on the planet Mars. It took thousands of pictures, sending us never-seen-by-human-eyes of a faraway land. It rocked, it rolled, it passed over rough terrain (a total of 45.16 kilometers) taking samples, sending us evidence of water that once was a part of this distant marvel. For about 15 years it reported remarkable discoveries.

Opportunity - NASA/JPL Cornell Univ.

   And then it paused. Quiet. For days, weeks, months. No responses back to its team on Earth. It was with great sadness the team declared Opportunity was dead, having completed its mission February 13, 2019.

Opportunity on Mars by NASA/JPL CalTech July 2004

   Although Opportunity was not a human or animal, it was a creative being. It acted with some human form: travelling, capturing samples of soil, pictures, relaying messages. It was in fact alive, and then it wasn’t.

   Opportunity sits there on Mars probably for eternity. A part of us is there on Mars; a part of Opportunity will always be here with us. Like God’s creation, we are all stardust.

                     We are One in the Spirit of the Universe.                     

                                               Theresa M

Opportunity trails, NASA/JPL CalTech March 2016

“And all the dreams I’ve dreamed before

that stretch out into the skies,

each hanging as stars -

an intricate web -

reach out and extend to connect

to a dream that is yours…”

                                      from “Starlit Wonder” by Theresa M

info on Opportunity:  

      space.com

      scientificamerican.com 

      mars.nasa.gov