Spirit Mars rover gets a new mission

After 6 years of tirelessly exploring the surface of Mars, the Spirit rover was given a new mission as a stationary science station. If you remember, Spirit got trapped in sand a few months ago; its aging wheels failing, NASA scientists have had little success freeing the rover. As a result, and with the Martian winter fast approaching, NASA decided to change its mission to that of a stationary science station. Much effort is currently going into positioning the rover in such a way as to receive enough energy from the Sun in order to remain operational during the winter months.

To a large degree, this mean that Spirit’s mission will soon be over. The twin rover Opportunity is continuing to explore the Martian surface. The web comic xkcd dedicated a recent entry to the brave Spirit rover. I have included it below; it is very touching, I have to admit. Thank you Spirit!