Thin line between success and failure for Rovers nicknamed “Divorce†and “Exhaustion†(must read!)
Important overview of the problems with these missions. I hope amidst all the backslapping and toasts NASA learns from the major mistakes made in this hugely successful mission:
Spirit and Opportunity will undoubtedly leave an impressive scientific legacy. But their managerial legacy is equally important. If NASA’s managers and operators come away from this effort with a much better understanding of just how close they came to failure, and realize that they can never grow complacent even when everything goes as it is supposed to, then there is hope for the space agency after all.