Good Night Oppy (2022)

Good Night Oppy (2022). Good Night Oppy: Directed by Ryan White. With Angela Bassett, Moogega Cooper, Steve Squyres, Abigail Fraeman. The film follows Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years.

“Greetings again from the darkness. u0026quot;Check out the brain on Brad!u0026quot; There may or may not have been a u0026#39;Bradu0026#39; on the NASA team we follow in Ryan Whiteu0026#39;s documentary, however Samuel L Jacksonu0026#39;s famous line from PULP FICTION certainly holds true for the rest of the team that helped execute the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission. A brief overview outlines the attempts to gain approval, followed by the design and planning and testing to ensure the window for launch was met. See, the launch was scheduled according to a planetary alignment that only occurs every 26 months. A late arrival would have been costly, and possibly ended the program before it really started.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe mission was to send a rover to Mars and have it procure samples from around the red planet in hopes of finding evidence of water, which would likely mean proof of past life. We see some of the design stage as the engineers note the human characteristics, though most movie fans will immediately notice physical similarities to WALL-E. The team created two u0026quot;twinu0026quot; robotic rovers named u0026quot;Spiritu0026quot; and u0026quot;Opportunityu0026quot;. The expectation was that each would have a 90-day lifespan and send scientifically significant data back. The race was on to meet the launch date in 2003, and the two rovers were launched three weeks apart – and to different areas of the planet.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAfter the 6-and-a-half-month flight time to travel 300 million miles, the two rovers were successfully landed, which only kicked off some of the challenges back on Earth in mission control. Itu0026#39;s here, and with the numerous interviews of team members, that we really get a sense of the emotions running through these folks who had invested so much time and energy into making the mission a reality. Computer engineered reenactments (stunning work from Industrial Light u0026amp; Magic) help us visualize what happened on Mars, while the archival footage from inside the NASA control room conveys the palpable tension as they helplessly wait for the next signal to arrive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough Mr. Whiteu0026#39;s documentary centers on scientific achievement, much of the focus lands on the human element. We are there to witness first the relief, and then the jubilation as that first signal from Mars is received. Scientists, designers, engineers, and drivers all experience the rollercoaster of emotions driven by the intense camaraderie and teamwork involved. Should you ever doubt whether the smartest people on the planet experience human emotions, you need only look at the faces as daily u0026#39;wake-up songsu0026#39; are played, including u0026quot;Roamu0026quot; by the B-52s, u0026quot;SOSu0026quot; by Abba, u0026quot;Born to be Wildu0026quot; by Steppenwolf. Additionally, after the 90-day window has closed, the annual u0026quot;cocktail napkinu0026quot; records each team members prediction about rover survival over the coming year.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEmotions and accomplishments go hand in hand for these NASA types, as do the challenges presented by harsh winters and dust storms that put west Texas to shame. Itu0026#39;s remarkable that Spirit lasted more than 7 years, and Oppy (the u0026quot;lucky roveru0026quot;) went for 15, before finally being shut down while Billie Holiday sang u0026quot;Iu0026#39;ll be Seeing You.u0026quot; Wisely, director White ends on a high not with the 2020 launch of the new rover, Perseverance. What an inspiring trip this is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOpens in US theaters on November 4, 2022 and on Prime Video November 23.”