Goodnight Oppy, by Ryan White is a documentary that brings both excitement and curiosity. I loved learning about how the scientists related to Opportunity, nicknamed Oppy, almost as if she/it was their child. I also loved that, no matter what went wrong, they always never gave up and always thought she would go on. And she did! She outlived her life expectancy by 150 months!
The inspirational true story follows Opportunity, the veteran interplanetary Mars Exploration Rover, affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years. The film follows Oppy's groundbreaking journey on Mars and the remarkable bond forged between a robot and her humans millions of miles away.
Exploring the last 15 years of interplanetary exploration with Opportunity and her twin sister is so interesting. Opportunity and Spirit were identical twins, both 5'2" tall, with human like eyes. I love how the humans associated with them thought of them almost as their children. It takes a long 6 months to get to Mars from Earth. Spirit was launched on July 7, 2003 and Opportunity followed three weeks after that date. I found I it fascinating how, no matter what happened to the rovers, the scientists kept believing that they would work again. My favorite part of their day was the wake up song! It is amazing how Opportunity and Spirit could respond and think for themselves. I enjoyed watching their journey exploring Mars and all the photos they sent back. What stands out most in this documentary is how everyone keeps believing in the two rovers; they never give up.
This inspiring documentary reveals the discoveries that these two rovers gave us about Mars. The film helps audiences understand the incredible amount of work that the scientists and the robots' creators put in to achieve the accomplishments of these two robots. They gave us so much information we never had previously.
I give Goodnight Oppy 5 out of 5 stars from me and I recommend it for ages 12 to 18, plus adults. It is available now on Amazon Prime. By Sariah R., KIDS FIRST!
