NASA Bids Adieu To Spirit Mars Rover

The Spirit Rover that NASA sent to Mars in 2004, is not expected to be used again.  Spirit, and it's twin Opportunity were both sent to Mars in 2004, to explore the red planet.  Spirit has had a rough time on Mars, as over the years it had two wheels stop working, it faced a few hard winters, it started sending nonsense data back to Earth, and more.  This robot, has caught the world's attention with all of it's mishaps on the red planet, but now it seems it has faced it's doom, after getting stuck in a sand pit.  NASA has set up listening posts all-around the world, to hear even the tiniest peep from the rover, but nothing has been heard, since the last contact with the rover, before the last Mars winter.  NASA believes that the harsh cold, of temperatures of down-to -55 C, which is the coldest that is has experienced on Mars, may have damaged Spirit's electronics, after the engineers could not properly position the solar panels, which then did not provide enough energy to power it's heaters.  The rover, Opportunity, now is the only moving rover left on Mars, after NASA said goodbye to another rover Phoenix, in 2008, after it had spent five months studying an Arctic Plain on Mars.  NASA says that Opportunity will not be alone for a while though, as they plan to send, a rover the size Mini-Cooper in summer 2012.

I believe that The Mars rovers were a great success, with Opportunity, and Spirit, both almost seven years of exploring on the red planet.  I believe that the rovers have provided us with more information, and a better understanding of Mars.  I also believe that the engineers Spirit have done an excellent job at continuing to work on Spirit through all of it's technical mishaps over the years.  They have persevered immensely, and have gotten through situations where I am not even sure what I would do, and think that almost all hope is lost.  I am pretty sure, that if one of the tires on a rover, that is on a different planet, stopped turning, I would be a little lost, and worried about it we/I could get the rover moving again, but that is what these engineers have gone through, and managed to pull off, which is extraordinary.  The information that we have gained from these explorations, I believe, are well worth the time, and the effort to put all of these massive projects together.

Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/offbeat/story/2011/05/24/science-spirit-mars-rover.html