Timelapse of a Mars Rover

Using raw rover imagery and the sound of actual wind on Mars, I painted this little portrait of Opportunity, our faithful little martian rover friend that was lost earlier this year. Losing a rover feels a little like losing a pet. But for all that it accomplished, and for our ability to revel in all the awesome images it collected over its lifetime, its end is bittersweet. Oppy traveled 28 miles on Mars over a span of 14 years - an amazing feat of engineering and human ambition.

After sifting through thousands of raw Mars images for hours and hours, I have developed a strange sense of Mars as a real place I have been, riding alongside this little rover that could, making laps across rocky martian plains. My hope is this little portrait gives you a glimpse of that same feeling. Still can't believe we put a vehicle on mars that lasted almost 15 years. I don’t even expect my car to run that long. Humans are pretty rad sometimes.

Thanks to all the people at NASA, JPL, and beyond who made this mission possible. Thanks to Matt Brealey for help collecting raw images. And thanks to Juan Benet and my Patreon subscribers for their support of this creation: Kalexan, Laine Boswell, Holly, Abraxas, Alina Sigaeva, Ahmad M Alquarni, Amal Isaac, Benedikt Winter, Chris Becker, Aksel Tjønn, Daniel Saltzman, Crystal, Dave & Debbie Boswell, David Southpaw, Eico Neumann, Ezri Legler, Frances Kubat, geekiskhan, Gergo Rostasi, Giulia Carrozzino, Hannah Murphy, Ivan Sivák, James Lyon, Jeremy Kerwin, JousterL, Julio Hernández Camero, Kody Cotterill, Lars Støttrup Nielsen, Leonard van Vliet, Leo Botinelly, Marnix Bruinsma, Michael Li, Mihai Ioan Pop, Mohana Chandiran Dhukkaram, Mitchel Mattera, Nathan Paskett, Patrick Cullen, Patrick Raimond, Preston Maness, Rodrigo Sambade Saá, Randall Bollig, Roman Shishkin, Sean Tham, Silas Rech, Stefan Stettner, The Cleaner, TheMoonWalker115, Virtual_271, Vladislav Gudzenko, Timothy E Plum, Virtual_271, Westin Johnson, Yan Kononov, and Yannic.

Peace and love,

Melodysheep
@musicalscience

[melodysheep]

hey guys. tried something a bit different for this piece - hope you dig it. any questions for me?

[andreasvonsinnen]

"my battery is low and it's getting dark" is one of the saddest sentences ever.

[CrownePrince]

It amazes me that the images still feel familiar, despite it being a different planet.

[LightningShiva]

Where music and science meets,
Something Incredible happens.

[proy]

Oppy, the Voyagers, the Pioneers, Cassini....old friends, some gone, some very far away.

[banafanafofana]

Just when I was recovering from the timelapse of the future :'(

[YoruII-]

I didn't ask to be brought in tears watching this . Oppy's like our precious space puppy .



*See you, space puppy* .

[RudolfdeLang]

One day we will build a city where you rest now.

[Dozer_DT]

14 years, 28 miles. Sounds like traffic in Southern California.

[prophet]

I'm crying actual tears rn.


Edit: This is a damn masterpiece

[montyquartz]

Opportunity is like the WALL-E of our time, determined to accomplish its job. Great video!

[tegjwokjohn]

Oppy dies - Everybody starts crying

Voyager 1 lost in deep space: *Am I a joke to you?*

[dfoohrh]

It always amazes me how curious people are when it comes to learning about other worlds and planets, regardless where they are from! Warm greetings from Kazakhstan to all who are interested in studying space!

[tippib]

oh no I'm crying for a little space robot again

[freerideziege]

Oppy deserves a requiem like this. Thank you.

Soon we go there and replace his batterys.

[abrarahmad]

Melodysheep, thanks for being in my life.

[LeonAquitaine]

MelodySheep: This is a lovely pocket-sized story, short and (bitter)sweet.
Oppy: You did good, little one. Thank you for taking us along your adventures, and you won't be forgotten.

[Godspeednihilo]

The music greatly complements the feeling of excitement for discovery

[botend]

villain that had a dramatic backstory: Humanity is evil, corrupt, and heartless. It's a disease and i'm the cure.
Majority of humanity: *cries over the best robot in outer space*

[KuninKat]

"my battery is low, and it's getting dark..." The saddest qoute from a thing that doesn't even have a conciouns I have ever heard...


Thanks oppy we loved yah... And you deserved to be remembered like a human celebrity....