Mars rover Opportunity sets out on its greatest journey yet.Opportunity, one of two Mars rovers is on day 1,661 of it's original 90 day mission. Yup that's no typo. It's travelled through Victoria crater and is now beginning a two year journey to Endeavour crater which is 20 times larger. "To get to the 22 kilometer-wide crater (nearly 14 miles), Opportunity will need to drive 11 kilometers (nearly 7 miles) to the southeast -- that's equal to the total distance the rover has traveled since it landed on Mars in January 2004."
They're not sure they'll make it, but two things happened in 2006 that give it a better chance. One was a software update that improves it's autonomous choices of safe routes. Another is the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter with a powerful camera that can resolve the rover and potential obstacles.
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