It's not you, it's me: NASA cuts off communication with the Mars Spirit rover

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It’s not you, it’s me: NASA cuts off communication with the Mars Spirit rover

Just over a year since NASA last heard from the Mars Spirit rover and seven years since the rover landed on the red planet, NASA has decided to throw in the towel and end all attempts to communicate with the damaged vehicle.

NASA was hoping that the approaching Martian spring would allow the Spirit to recharge its solar panels and re-establish radio contact, but it now appears that the craft sustained irreparable damage last winter, when it was forced to endure brutally cold temperatures. NASA executive David Lavery, however, says the rover team will remember the Spirit more for its achievements than its slow demise:

“I think we’ll all sit around and have a sip of Guinness and reminisce about when Spirit was a wee small little rover and look back at the accomplishments and successes rover had over its entire lifetime.”

Via