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When the twin rovers of Spirit and Opportunity barrelled down through the thin Martian atmosphere, the engineers were wondering whether the revolutionary airbag landing system would even open. That's pretty much why they sent two of them in the first place because it hadn't been tested.
Don't even talk about bouncing into a crater, off the edge of a cliff or even opening upside down ... NASA were pulling their hair out until the moment both rovers rolled off their landing platforms and onto the Martian surface.
image courtesy nasa/jpl
But they both landed safely and unfolded into the bright sunshine and started to trundle across the vast wastelands of our neighbour planet doing some great science and proving many theories about the prior existence of water on the red planet.
Completely solar powered and relying on commands issued from many millions of miles away, these fragile little explorers had to rely on their own wits to get them around obstacles and up and down hills. Their original mission was scheduled for just three months, but now after six years it's obvious that they were a little hardier than NASA originally thought.
Although Opportunity continues to wend its way from one interesting rock outcrop to another, poor Spirit got stuck in a hidden crater and has been trying to get out for the last nine months. It's tricky work. With two broken wheels dragging in the dust she's been rolling backwards for some time now with the thinking that it's easier to drag a broken wheel rather than push it further into the dirt.
However, as Spirit is firmly stuck now her solar panels are angled the wrong way from the Sun. With the Martian mid-winter coming hard and fast, engineers are worried that their little miracle machine won't have enough power to keep it's critical systems warm as the dust freezes over her solar panels and the sub-zero temperatures bite deep into her electronics.
NASA engineers are currently trying some navigational wizardry in a vain attempt to get her out of the crater, or at the very least, angle her solar panels so they can pick up more life-giving sunlight. Even if Spirit can't be freed, she could still be used as a weather station and for ongoing atmospheric analysis.
But if not ... its a permanent goodnight to this amazing little rover, and no, Opportunity is half way round the planet so couldn't help her twin. I know you shouldn't anthropomorphise machines but she's produced some brilliant science and the whole mission has totally inspired me and millions of others here on Earth.
I hope NASA can do something, but I fear Spirits days are now numbered.
Thank you for your contribution little explorer!
Until next time ...
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