NASA's Spirit Rover Completes Mission on Mars [720p]

NASA has ended operational planning activities for the Mars rover Spirit and transitioned the Mars Exploration Rover Project to a single-rover operation focused on Spirit's still-active twin, Opportunity.

This marks the completion of one of the most successful missions of interplanetary exploration ever launched.

Spirit last communicated on March 22, 2010, as Martian winter approached and the rover's solar-energy supply declined. The rover operated for more than six years after landing in January 2004 for what was planned as a three-month mission. NASA checked frequently in recent months for possible reawakening of Spirit as solar energy available to the rover increased during Martian spring. A series of additional re-contact attempts ended May 25, 2011, designed for various possible combinations of recoverable conditions.

Spirit drove 4.8 miles (7.73 kilometers), more than 12 times the goal set for the mission. The drives crossed a plain to reach a distant range of hills that appeared as mere bumps on the horizon from the landing site; climbed slopes up to 30 degrees as Spirit became the first robot to summit a hill on another planet; and covered more than half a mile (nearly a kilometer) after Spirit's right-front wheel became immobile in 2006. The rover returned more than 124,000 images. It ground the surfaces off 15 rock targets and scoured 92 targets with a brush to prepare the targets for inspection with spectrometers and a microscopic imager.

credit: NASA / JPL

source: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/video/index.cfm?id=987

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Spirit rover
• Mars rover
• Mars exploration

[Mueiwark]

>Spirit is Dead, Long live Spirit!< Had to happen sometime. RIP Spirit, may humanity in the future come to take you home, to be put on display in a museum as one of the greatest achievements of mankind. Thank you for the long and sometimes difficult ears of service and the knowledge we obtained. Salute!

[benoitlegat]

@TamirylAuvahn What do we have that Spirit doesn't have ?

The only difference between Spirit and us is on a scale. It's the same than for animal, it's not because you're smarter that you live and it doesn't.

Anyway, this robot has accomplished billion of times more than you ever would :)

[CaptainBluebear08]

HURRAY!! "NASA calls off" ... the €1 billion/$900 million Marsian Robotic Exo-Insanity Mission. There's charming aspects even to financial crises, I guess.

*champagne corks popping* CHEERS

[Freedomloveandtruth]

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[TheQorL]

NASA should send robot (rover) 2 Egypt, since human is like u know, BLIND.

[Kosstyan]

master-piece of engineering! I'm really proud of it. Salute from Poland!

[Mueiwark]

@dosh4 Consider yourself blocked kiddo

[dosh4]

@Mueiwark FAKE U DICK

[SuperAdnan117]

@NeddyRedux that is why i like oppurtunity and pheonix only

[NeddyRedux]

@TamirylAuvahn Machines are referred to as females.

[Jaspersgirl818]

RIP Spirit :'(

[Quilbo]

@TamirylAuvahn a bit narrow minded you are, not?