The trailer for “Good Night, Oppy” was made available on Amazon Prime. It illustrates the relationship between NASA scientists and the two Rover robots that they despatched to Mars for a 90-day mission, only to find out that the robots kept going for many years after they were supposed to stay there for only 90 days.
A scientist is heard saying in the preview for the uplifting documentary directed by Ryan White that “I don’t think anyone anticipated the Rover to survive all these tragedies.” The expert was speaking about the Mars robots. In 2003, two robots known as Spirit and Opportunity were dispatched to the planet Mars on independent quests with the purpose of gathering data. Both were designed to only last for a period of three months.
In the end, Spirit continued to move and operate until the year 2010, and Opportunity remained on Mars until the year 2018, despite the fact that it had to contend with sandstorms, sensors that became covered in dust, malfunctioning machinery, and various other technological issues.
In addition, the teaser for Good Night Oppy demonstrates how enthusiastic and moved NASA researchers and engineers are about the Mars robots that have cameras that like eyes, limbs that resemble arms, and a woman that is the size of a human. According to a NASA specialist, “people are forming a connection and a bond with a robot.”
This emotional connection is demonstrated in the documentary through the use of archival footage shot by NASA of the mission’s scientists and engineers working on earth; images that Opportunity and its sister rover, Spirit, sent back from Mars; and photo-realistic computer-generated images of Mars made by Industrial Light & Magic.
Telluride was the location of the very first screening of the documentary that Amazon Studios produced on the Mars Rover. Following that, it travelled to Toronto. On November 4, the film Good Night, Oppy will be released in theatres, and on November 23, it will be available on Amazon Prime.