The plucky master of Mars, the Spirit Rover, is hopelessly stuck in a sand trap.

NASA scientists made the announcement in Washington, but made sure to say that the mission is still not over.

“Spirit is not dead; it has just entered another phase of its long life,” said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We told the world last year that attempts to set the beloved robot free may not be successful. It looks like Spirit’s current location on Mars will be its final resting place.”

Designed for a 90-day mission, the Spirit Rover has been on borrowed time for more than five years already. And still, the rover keeps on working.

Now the Spirit will study how Martian winds affect sand particles and study nearby soil, giving clues to Mar’s past and the future of mars missions.

[Via NASA]

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On November 2nd, 2008, the Phoenix Mars Lander made it’s last transmission – the results of an arctic survey. It then powered down for the harsh Martian winter, with nobody at NASA expecting it to survive.

The Phoenix’s power down site has experienced fall, winter, and part of a spring – temperature fluctuations the rover was never designed to withstand. All expect that it is dead. Just in case, the Mars Oddysey Orbiter will make 30 sweeps of the area from January 18th-20th. Longer search campaigns will be undertaken in February & March.

Dr. Tom Pike, who worked on the Phoenix Lander, had this to say:

“If it does come back up, I will be very surprised – very pleasantly surprised. I think we will beg, steal or borrow the money to get back out to Arizona, into mission control and back into our old seats to get the show on the road again.”

Source & Photo Source: BBC

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