Despite a somewhat frustrating end to the year, Opportunity and the MER team wrapped up 2016 and put a bow on it, just like they have every year. “We finished a very successful campaign in Marathon Valley that conclusively demonstrated pervasive aqueous alteration of the Shoemaker Formation impact breccias, especially within fracture zones where enhanced fluid flow was highly likely,” summed up Arvidson.

And the mission was roving on with Opportunity into a new geomorphic phase of exploration. But there’s not much time to stop and reflect when you’ve got a rover to tend every sol.

“I'm always thinking about the next thing and the next big thing is the gully,” said Squyres. “Old gullies have been telling us about ancient processes on Mars from orbit, and have been interpreted since the 1970s and the days of Mariner 9 and Viking. Now we have a chance to actually see one on the ground for the first time. I never even imagined seeing an ancient gully, because there were none of these features even near our landing sites. But we have driven so far out of Opportunity’s ellipse right now that these possibilities are opening up to us. And now it is –,” he said, drifting off into the future. “We just gotta get there.”

Then, 2017 dawned on Mars.

While many millions of Earthlings embark on new resolutions, Opportunity will be taking off on the next leg of her climb up the slopes of Cape Tribulation, slated to begin on her Sol 4602 (January 2, 2017).

The robot still has a rugged 200 meters (about 656.16 feet) to put behind her in order to get to the top of Endeavour’s western rim, but she is driven by her own human-infused DNA and is in safe hands, supported by the most experienced Mars rover driving team in the world. “While we do encounter things we can’t see in the HiRISE images or can’t tell exactly what they are, we’re pretty good at figuring out a way around or through,” said Seibert.

As Opportunity rolls along, the mission scientists and engineers, though having formed a well-oiled ops machine, continue to learn and advance their knowledge about exploring Mars and about their rover. “We do go right up to the limit in lots of places, because there is interesting science to be accomplished from doing that,” said Golombek. “But we have learned what the rover can and can't do.”

Knowing Opportunity’s limits and her human-like determination, understanding the steepness and composition of the terrain, and being able to better “read” the world of Mars in orbital images have given the MER team an edge. And it’s an edge they honor. The team members will never put the beloved rover in jeopardy.

From the mission’s first sol on the Red Planet and especially since Spirit and Opportunity completed their 90-day primary missions, the team members have been roving Mars according to a code and it seems to have emboldened them all along the way. As Squyres first put it so many years ago: “Every day on Mars is a gift.”