NASA's Opportunity Rover remains unreachable due to Mars dust storm

NASA has reportedly not been able to establish contact with the Opportunity Rover - which has been exploring Mars for 14 years - for over two months, due to a global dust storm engulfing the red planet. However, the US space agency has not given up on trying to make contact with the robotic rover. The rover had to undergo an emergency shutdown after the dust storm prevented it from powering itself through its solar panels.

Scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have been attempting to send Opportunity a message command three times a week since then. The last time NASA heard from Opportunity was June 10.
"A variety of scientists think early to mid-September might be a time when the skies clear enough that it could recharge," Andrew Good, Mars and Mars technology media relations specialist, told 'Inverse'. The planet-encircling dust storm on Mars is gradually settling. Dust-lifting sites have decreased and surface features are starting to emerge.

There are indications that the atmospheric opacity might be decreasing over the Opportunity site. Since the last contact with the rover , Opportunity has likely experienced a low-power fault and perhaps, a mission-clock fault.

While the storm of tiny dust particles has engulfed Opportunity and suspended its science operations, NASA's Curiosity Rover continues to study the other side of the planet. Curiosity runs on a nuclear-powered battery meaning that allows it to run without solar power.