Mars Rover Spirit Is Stuck in the Martian Sand, May Not Recover

 

Mars Rover Stuck

After over five years of tireless service, the Mars rover Spirit is one again in trouble.  Our long-lived martian friend now appears to be stuck in the sand. Spirit, which has been dragging an immobile wheel for nearly three years, has been circling a, "low plateau called 'Home Plate' for two months", where it stumbled into some very soft martian sand. After proceeding about 1 meter, it now appears that the wheels are almost half-way deep into the sand (which you can see in the picture), and NASA engineers have suspended movement until they can further analyze the situation.

"We are proceeding methodically and cautiously. It may be weeks before we try moving Spirit again. Meanwhile, we are using Spirit's scientific instruments to learn more about the physical properties of the soil that is giving us trouble."

Even if Spirit never recovers, it will have been operation for more than 5 years past its original mission - a pretty hefty return-on-investment. But, here's hoping for some more martian exploration time from dear Spirit.