NASA's
Opportunity rover celebrates Mars marathon milestone
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It certainly won't be troubling any
earth-based runners' personal bests, but NASA's long-serving Mars rover
Opportunity set a significant benchmark Tuesday as it clocked in 26.219 miles
(42 kilometers) -- the first-ever Martian marathon. It might have taken the
robot 11 years and two months but it represents a significant landmark for
NASA. "This is the first time any human enterprise has exceeded the distance
of a marathon on the surface of another world," said John Callas, Opportunity
project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena,
California. "A first time happens only once." It beat out previous
record-holder, the Soviet-era Lunokhod 2 moon rover in the distance
stakes. "This mission isn't about setting distance records, of course," said
Cornell University's Steve Squyres,
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