Therobot SpiritNASA begins its seventh year of exploration in theRed planetwith an uncertain future. The rover descended into the Gusev crater on Mars on January 3, 2004, while its companion, therobot explorador Opportunity, landed twenty days later on the other side of the red planet, in the plains of Meridiani Planum. The scientists then expected each of the devices to work for about three months. HoweverSpiritYOpportunitythey continue to operate after 3.2 Martian years or 6 Earth years have elapsed.
During this period,Spirithas found evidence of a steamy, turbulent environment in the past on Mars.Spiritended up in a sandy area last May where its wheels got stuck, and NASA technicians fear that the robot will not be able to position itself so that itssolar panels, which convert sunlight into energy, accumulate enough charge for the rover to survive another Martian winter. The front wheel ofSpiritit had already stopped working in 2006 and the right wheel got stuck a month ago. But, to the surprise of the technicians, the front wheel has returned to work although intermittently.
“Now the priority for the mission is to keep it moving, if that’s possible,” says Steve Squyres of Cornell University. If it is not possible to keep it moving, the next option is to improve the tilt of the robot.Spiritis in thesouthern hemisphere of Mars, where it is now fall and the sunlight available to the robot’s panels is dwindling. If left unchecked, this could bring your activity to a complete halt in spring.
