It’s been an amazing six years for the Martian rover Spirit. But the little robot may finally be dying in winter temps of almost seventy degrees below zero F. It hasn’t been heard from since March 22:
“The earliest date the rover could generate enough power to send a beep to Earth was calculated to be around July 23. However, mission managers don’t anticipate the batteries will charge adequately until late September to mid-October. It may be even later if the rover is in a mission-clock fault mode. If Spirit does wake up, mission managers will do a complete health check on the rover’s instruments and electronics.”
Hang in there, Spirit. Spring’s coming.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 