NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity Becomes a Family Member in Heartwarming 'Good Night Oppy' Trailer
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Not all connections happen to be human-to-human.
In a new exclusive trailer for Good Night Oppy, a documentary directed by Ryan White covering NASA's Opportunity rover and its historic lengthy mission, scientists discuss what it means to grow a bond with a robot.
"It's just a bunch of wires, right?" one man says of the rover, which ended up surviving on the planet for an unexpected 15 years. "But you end up with this cute-ish looking robot that has a face."
Featuring narration by Angela Bassett, the film explores how a 90-day mission turned into one that lasted years, as Opportunity overcame dust devils and worse to continue answering questions NASA had about Mars.
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"Our whole objective was to build two solar-powered rovers that could survive three months," one scientists says in the clip. But, of course, Opportunity's impact went beyond just three months, and its lifespan did as well.
The trailer shows moments where those on NASA's Opportunity team shed tears and rejoiced over the successful mission. While Mars was a "spacecraft graveyard," the robot inspired a lot more people than even it could understand.
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Produced by Jessica Hargrave, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Brandon Carroll and Matthew Goldberg, the film covers several of Opportunity's journeys within its 15-year mission. The rover, which died on Mars in 2019, was initially launched into space in 2003 to scope out the Red Planet for ancient water. It notably discovered that Mars stayed wet for an "extended period and that conditions could have been suitable for sustaining microbial life," per NASA's website.
"Goodnight opportunity," Bassett says the end of the trailer. "Well done."
It's twin rover, Spirit, was active on the planet until 2010, as it also studied the history of climate and water at sites on Mars.
Good Night Oppy arrives in theaters Nov. 4 and heads to Prime Video on Nov. 23.
