NASA listens for Spirit on Mars

William Atkins
Friday, 07 January 2011 00:38

Science - Space

The Mars rover Spirit has been in hibernation on Mars due to the planet's harsh winter. The mission team at NASA for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit hope it will awaken from its deep slumber. They are listening for signs of life.

The Spirit rover is crippled and cannot move. It has been re-designated by NASA as a stationary probe and, before winter set in, was continuing to provide valuable data on the planet.

However, because of its fixed position, it could not re-position its solar array so that it got the best position to receive the meager rays of the Sun during the harsh Martian winter.

Such a problem may cause the doom of the little robot. The extreme cold of its last Martian winter may have done irreparable damage to the machine.

However, NASA is listening to see if Spirit has another season of exploration ahead of it.

For additional information on this story, please read the January 5, 2011 Space.com article 'NASA Trying Again to Awaken Silent Spirit Rover on Mars.'

The January 5, 2011 Space.com article begins with: 'With spring on Mars in full swing, NASA is taking advantage of the Martian season's ever-longer periods of daylight to try to reawaken its stuck rover, Spirit, after months of silence.'

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