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Opportunity on Mars, Searching from Earth

Opportunity on Mars, Searching from Earth
Opportunity on Mars, Searching from Earth Image on left is a close-up of a HiRISE orbital image taken in September 2018 that was processed and enlarged by author and astronomy outreach educator, Stuart Atkinson. Opportunity is the ‘dot’ in the center of the image. Image on right shows a 34-meter (111.5-foot) beam-waveguide antenna that tracks spacecraft as they come into view from the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex in the Mojave Desert in California. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are using antennas like this one to transmit a new set of commands to the rover in an attempt to compel her to phone home. Left: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona / S. Atkinson; right: NASA