NASA bids farewell to frozen Spirit rover on Mars

[Playinghardball]

Source: Raw Story
By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US space agency said it is giving up on trying to contact its Spirit rover on Mars, saying the robot explorer likely froze to death in the Red Planet's harsh winter.

"NASA is ending attempts to regain contact with the long-lived Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated on March 22, 2010," it said in a statement.

Spirit was only supposed to endure for three months but carried on a bountiful career that lasted more than six years after it first landed on Mars in January 2004.

Last year, NASA said the tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot had broken through a crusty surface layer and hit sand at one edge of the Troy crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.

All attempts to extricate it failed. Spirit was unable to shake off the Martian dust that has been slowly accumulating on its solar panels, preventing its batteries from recharging.

More at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/25/nasa-bids-farewell-to-frozen-spirit-rover-on-mars/

[NeedleCast]

1. That's a Shame. The Rovers Gave Us So Much

Lots of scientific data and hundreds of beautiful pictures of the red planet...from the ground. The fact that both rovers lasted well past their intended dates is a testament to human engineering and sceintific advancement.

[Playinghardball]

2. They lasted longer than the Yugos

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http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658529,00.html

[TK421]

3. Either that or the Decepticons destroyed it