Official News page 6

REAL LIFE NEWS: STATIONARY SPIRIT

by Hazed

NASA's Mars rover Spirit looks like its now stuck for good and won't be able to move again. It's been trapped in loose soil since last April, but with several wheels out of action, the controllers back on Earth have been unable to get it to break free.

"Spirit has encountered a golfer's worst nightmare: the sand trap that no matter how many strokes you take, you can't get out of," said Doug McCuiston, Director of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. "It's driving days are likely over."

Still, it may not be the end for the non-roving rover. The new plan is to jostle Spirit into place where its Solar arrays can soak in as much sunlight as possible, in the hope it will be able to survive the forthcoming Martian winter. Then if it does wake up again when Martian spring comes, it will be able to continue to function as a stationery science platform - there are plenty of experiments it can do in one place.

Don't forget, too, that the Martian rovers were originally expected to last for six months - and they've kept on going for years. So anything extra they do is a bonus.

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