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Posted by: hendric Feb 13 2019, 07:14 PM

How does one celebrate a 5,111 sol mission in 900x68 pixels? An impossible task, so one must do the best we can.

Clearly a single image cannot, in any way, do justice. So I decided to do a small animation scrolling between iconic images.
I had hoped to use only UMSF images, but sadly even though Opportunity lasted 14+ years, the images on here are more
ephemeral than I realized with many of the most iconic images lost to time. I hope all of us will do better moving
forwards submitting our images to the Bruce Murray Space Image Library.

I'm sure someone else would have chosen different, better images. It is difficult creating an elegy to a close friend
I've watched for 1/3 of my life. I procrastinated even starting this project since the feelings just felt so strong,
and I didn't think there was any way I could do what was necessary. I went, in the end, with three images.

Starting this during Memorial Week, I felt I had to honor that with the picture of Challenger Memorial Station,
including that first, iconic outcropping. The empty lander reminds us of where Opportunity started on Sol 1,
with her journey still ahead of us. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/Cornell.

The second image is a big panorama of Victoria Crater. I remember the awe that image inspired in me, of seeing that
crater, with those cliffs. Victoria was just such an iconic place I felt it had to be included in the final homage.
Image courtesy of vikingmars.

Finally, the last image is of that iconic selfie. Not only because of the image of Opportunity, but also the journey
it represents with Doug starting UMSF and eventually ending up at JPL, driving the rover we used to oooh and aaaahh over.
How could I chose anything else? Image courtesy of Doug Ellison.

Here are some source images in Photoshop for banners made by Glenn from Emily for future bannerists, along with my source image in Paint.Net at
Dropbox. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7vesujitbb4u0wc/AAArkxtqczw-yMYQZOyRBmS5a?dl=0

Posted by: nprev Feb 13 2019, 07:22 PM

Thanks for doing this, Rich. It was a LOT to ask; you succeeded brilliantly.

Posted by: HSchirmer Feb 14 2019, 05:24 PM

I have to admit I ALSO like the parody new version-

https://www.theonion.com/spacecraft-travel-from-all-over-galaxy-to-honor-end-of-1832602862