There's a new record on Mars: The little robot Opportunity on Thursday became the longest-working resident of the red planet, US space agency NASA said.
The previous longevity record was that of the Viking I probe, which worked for six years and 116 days, starting in July 1976, on Mars, DPA reported.
But Opportunity could still be bested by its companion rover, Spirit, which is currently in involuntary hibernation but could still wake up and return to service. That's because Spirit landed 21 days before Opportunity in 2004.
The two rovers have far exceeded expectations and are now in their sixth year of what were planned as 90-day missions, exploring the red planet's surface and making important discoveries about water on Earth's neighbour.