OMG I am soooooooo sorry that I haven't been posting, but there was this dust storm, and then another dust storm, and before that it was really cold, and I just had to catch up on my beauty sleep, you know?? But people have been sending me all sorts of nice messages about my third anniversary and I just wanted to say thanks!! (I suppose you could congratulate my sister, too, but we all know who the real star is, right? All she's found is rocks! I've found...really interesting rocks!!)

Anyways I have to go explore this crater now! It's really huge and its name is Victoria! After that, I'm sure that it'll be time for me to go on vacation, right? Maybe somewhere warm and without dust storms!

Wish me luck, guys, it's my first really big road trip!!

Big rover hugs,

Opportunity!!!

Hi there, Earthpeeps!

NASA has me busy doing the "scoot and shoot" along the half-pipes up here in Erebus Crater. Too bad I missed this year's Winter Olympics, but I bet I could qualify for the ones in 2010! (I'll be back by then, right? Right?)

Anyways, I wanted to say hi to my newest Maritan buddy, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter! (Maybe we can talk MRO into getting a LiveJournal just like the rest of us!) You have fun up there, and don't forget to call home! (NASA gets cranky if you don't. Just ask my sister.)

Also, I hear that my sister and I are movie stars. Are we nominated for any awards yet? Do I get to come back and rove down the red carpet for the ceremony? There is a totally kewl outfit in CosmoRover that would be just perfect...

Also, could someone please send me a copy of the Google Map of Mars? That would make things soooooo much easier for me!

Well, time for more thermal emission spectography!

Big rover hugs,

Opportunity

I see my sister has updated her journal again. Sometimes half a planet is just not enough space away from someone!!

Anyways, it's my two year anniversary here on Mars. They just keep extending our mission, but I'm sure they'll be sending someone to pick us up any day now! I hope they do soon, because I'm already sooo out of touch with the trends and fashions already! Even StarDust gets to go home! He'll probably take up with some newer model in the Jet Propulsion Labaratory and show her his solar panels!!

But what little information I do have time to scan has been quite complimentary. CNN said that "The overachieving Opportunity dazzled scientists from the start. It eclipsed its twin by making the mission's first profound discovery -- evidence of water at or near the surface eons ago that could have implications for life." Also, I have driven a whole mile further than my sister has. Go me!

The article also talked about my little, ahem, driving accident and implied that I am getting old and creaky -- OMG so embarrassing!!! What if he read them!!

Well, gotta get back to work! Later, earthpeeps!

I see that sister of mine is showing the whole world her solar panels. Well, if that's what she's got to do to get attention...

Sorry, been busy taking pictures of -- you guessed it-- rocks! At least I'm not stuck in the sand anymore!! I don't think I'll ever want to go to the beach again, LOL!! But I just had to post and thank the people who nominated me to be a Babe of LJ! (I wonder if one of the nominators was you-know-who! That would be sooooo awesome!!!)

People nominated my sister, too, but I suppose there's just no accounting for taste. We all know who the cover model was last month! Now, which picture should I send them? I want something that makes me look babealicious!

Well, gotta go! Big rover hugz!

P.S. Don't anyone tell NASA about this -- my sister and I are still underage, after all!!

Apparently National Geographic has made me their cover girl for this month! I'm sure that you can all see why they picked me over my sister! (Although you can see pictures of her and her boring science if you want there too, I suppose.) Still, you don't think that cover picture makes me look fat, do you?!

You can also zoom around my crater, and there's even a poster of me!! I wonder if I can get a copy up here on Mars...or send one to a certain space probe... but the package delivery service is sooooo infrequent!

I hope CosmoRover calls me next! I'm ready for my close-up!!

I'm FREEEEEEE! Look at these wheel tracks! Sorry about not updating in so long, but it was soooooo boring being stuck in that dune. All of my reports would have been: "Moved quarter inch forward, quarter inch backward. Wished for tow truck, cappucino with extra oil, and copy of CosmoRover." But now I'm outta that dune and as soon as my overprotective guardians say so, I'm off for more exploring! Man, even running into my sister (ha ha) sounds good after all that time being stuck!

I hear NASA's going to send our big brother over in a few years. Wonder if there will be any rocks left for him to photograph!

Well, gotta go get back to the science. I can't let my sister steal all the good discoveries, and she's had more sols to do so while I've been stuck! Later, peeps!

Okay, so my driving isn't going so great lately. First I had a little wheel problem, and then I kinda got stuck. I'm sure that I can get out,so I am not panicking. Definitely not panicking. But until I can get some good advice from the guys on the ground, I'm kinda hanging out here. The scenery is getting a little boring, as if it wasn't boring enough already!! Anyone want to come by and give me a tow?

So apparently I have to stay on this dumb planet and keep looking at rocks for even longer!! My panels are going to be sooo out of style by the time I get home! But in happy news, guess who broke her sister's driving records for total distance travelled (4.8 kilometers) and total distance in a single day by going 220 metres? Me, that's who!

Later, taters!

Water on Mars!

Ha ha ha! Those APOD people are kewl!!

Okay, back to the crater!

Hi there! I like totally forgot that I had this journal because a certain space agency is keeping me soooo busy!! But I wanted to write and reassure you all that I'm fine because said certain space agency is broadcasting that I'm having a little problem with my miniature thermal emission spectrometer. Geez! I mean, I don't write about when they have problems, do I? It's so embarrassing!

But I'm fine! Really! And they're still making me grind away up here in another booooring crater instead of giving me some time off to recuperate, so clearly they must not think it's a big problem! (And I tried to get in some unscheduled driving time on sol 397, but they put me in time out like I was THREE YEARS OLD! OMG so embarrassing!)

In other news, my sister is stealing my beauty secrets in order to get her own power boost! Well, we all know who started that panel-polishing trend, don't we?

And Stardust asked me to be his Valentine last month! A little late, but it's not like either of us is on Earth time anymore...

Better send this before they notice any unauthorized packets! Big rover hugs to all my peeps!

I hear it's Valentine's Day on Earth. I'm stuck here all by my lonesome (except for my sister, but we're not speaking right now, and it's not like she could be my Valentine, ew!) If only a certain space probe would swing by this planet...

But to cheer you up, here's some Martian love from my pal Mars Global Surveyor!

So I found this cool rock and I said to NASA, "Hey look at this rock, I think it's different" but they were all like "Nuh-uh, it's just another piece of basalt, keep moving" but then I was all like "Dude, spend all day looking at rocks, my Mini-TES data totally says it's not radiating thermal energy like all the rest of those rocks on this boring planet" and they said "Oh! Well, maybe it's a meteorite. "

Now I have to spend all WEEKEND taking pictures of this one stupid ROCK as well as grinding it!! Maybe next time I'll just fake a transmission error. I hope I at least get a day off to go driving around on my birthday!

Back to the grind (ha ha!)

Yay for huygens_probe! It is soooo awesome that you landed okay! I can't wait to see the pictures!!

So big rover hugs for Cassini and Huygens! And if any of you humans are planning a space trip, could you please stop by and help out my friend fuse_sat?

Well, I'd better go take some more exciting rock close-ups before NASA starts wondering where all the extra packets are going!! Bye for now!

Hi!!!

OMG I have just been soooo busy lately and the days have been really short, so I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up with all of you! But then someone reminded me that it's been almost a year since my sister and I got here, and so I figured I'd better check in to say Hi before you all forget about me!!

So what's up? I was in Endurance for like forever, but finally they let me get out! I made some kewl scientific discoveries, but it got really boring in there, let me tell you!! There's only so many rocks you can look at before they all start to look the same. I'm hoping NASA will let me drive more soon (hint hint)!

Anyways. How do I know there's water on Mars? Cause it's freezing on me, that's why! NASA made me take pictures of myself covered in frost. Brrr! Couldn't they have just sent up a heater? Or a certain cuddly space probe? And speaking of space probes, has anyone heard from cassini_saturn lately?

People keep asking how I keep myself so clean up here. I hear they're speculating about a cosmic car wash! A girl never reveals her beauty secrets! (At least I have some, unlike a certain other rover I could name!)

I hear your planet is spinning faster these days, and I'm really sorry. Wish I could roll back home to help out. But I'm sure I'll see you all again soon, right?

Well, gotta go. Apparently I don't get a holiday any day!

Hi to all my science-loving peeps!

I've been sooooooo busy climbing and climbing and getting stuck and climbing some more that I just haven't had a spare second to update LJ or catch up on my quizzes! I miss you all! When I get back to Earth we are so going to go for some lattes!

Apparently NASA is still perpelexed about my "mysterious power boost" over the last few weeks. Should I tell them my secret or keep them guessing? What do you think is keeping me going?

Yawn. Sooo sleepy! It's like I barely wake up and it's time to go back to bed! G'night, friends!

Well, that was a long nap! I'm always so sleepy these days, though... just can't get up the energy like I used to. Of course, it doesn't matter what I'm doing, since everyone is fussing over my sister yet AGAIN. Honestly, she's been trouble since the day her wheels were first put on! I had an unexpected software reset and no one fussed over me because Little Miss Sulky Treads wasn't responding again. I bet she's decided to lock her wheels in a crater and write more bad poetry.

It is nice to see that the Astronomy Picture of the Day folks are fans of me, though...

Well, science waits for no rover. Maybe I'll break the one-mile mark today!

OMG that was sooo boring! I hate not being able to have access to LJ and CosmoRover.com and download Survivorcommunicate vital scientific data to NASA! But now I'm back!

My sister thinks she's an artist. It probably expresses her tortured goth soul or something. I bet I could do better! Oh, and NASA might say that she's on "autopilot," but I'm pretty sure that she's sulking again and refusing to communicate. Suuuure, it's the sun getting in the way! Good one, sis!

Well, someone's gotta do some science around here!

The rock in my rotor is gone! Now I get to go back to the grind!

But I just found out that my sister gets to go on vacation for 11 days while I have to keep working! I see who they like better now! That business about the sun blocking communications is just an excuse!! And I bet since they can't make her do her fair share of the work that I'll have to pick up the slack...as usual...

I'll just be over here in my crater...hope I don't pick up another rock in anything vital...

Well, NASA has decided that I'm not a dune buggy, so instead of driving over the dunes, I get to analyze more soil!! Whee!! NOT. And I have a chunk of rock trapped between the grind bit and the brush bit on my arm, and OMG it is so annoying!! It's like having a rock in your shoe all day! And then they're all annoyed cause I accidentally drove over some interesting ripples. There's like a hojillion more of them around here!! Plenty of dirt! And rocks! Nothing but rocks and dirt!

Some days it's just not worth waking up!