Space Journal Entry
Space Journal Entry
NASA Will Leave Mars Rover Stuck (February 8, 2010)
The rover Spirit is still stuck in a sandy patch on Mars. NASA.
After six years of exciting exploration, it's looking like the Mars rover Spirit will have to gather data while standing still from now on. Ten months ago, one of the rover's six wheels got stuck in a patch of soft sand on the Red Planet. Despite all efforts to free it, the wheel remains stuck and NASA says it is giving up.
That doesn't mean Spirit won't still be useful. The rover will keep conducting important research, assuming it survives the brutal Martian winter that starts in May. Spirit will hopefully help scientists solve the mystery of Mars' core. Is it solid, or molten like Earth's? To get Spirit ready for the darkness of winter, NASA engineers are turning its solar panels now to soak up maximum energy to power the rover's sensing and communication gear.
Even after getting stuck, Spirit found new evidence of Mars' watery past. The rover's spinning wheel broke through a thin rocky crust and dug a crater filled with iron sulfates. Scientists say these chemicals formed billions of years ago when volcanoes erupted on the surface and water was abundant.
Meanwhile, Spirit's twin rover Opportunity is doing fine on the other side of the planet. It's busy exploring a huge crater for more signs of water and clues about Mars' past.The two rovers were launched in January 2004.
