276 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
276 lines
7.3 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
science
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space
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8534801
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-----
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# Mars rover Spirit to be officially retired
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## Spirit, the scrappy robot geologist that captivated the world with its
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antics on Mars before getting stuck in a sand trap, is about to meet its end
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after six productive years.
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![A synthetic image of the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover: Mars rover stuck in
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soil ][1]
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A synthetic image of the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover Photo: AP
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10:00AM BST 25 May 2011
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[Comments][2]
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Spirit has been incommunicado for more than a year despite daily calls by
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Nasa. The cause of Spirit's silence may never be known, but it's likely the
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bitter Martian winter damaged its electronics, preventing the six-wheel rover
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from waking up.
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The space agency for months tried every trick to communicate with Spirit to no
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avail. Project manager John Callas of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said
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the last commands will be sent up later today. Though orbiting spacecraft will
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continue to listen through the end of May, chances are slim that Spirit will
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respond.
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"Spirit went into a deep sleep," said Mr Callas, who said the plucky rover
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will be remembered for demystifying Mars to the masses.
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When the rover team gets together this summer, David Lavery of Nasa
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headquarters said the mood would likely be that of an Irish wake rather than
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funeral.
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"We drove it until its wheels came off," he said. "We never expected that that
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would be the way that we'd finish up with this project."
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## Related Articles
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* [New Mars rover to probe the secrets of the red planet][3]
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25 May 2011
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* [Mars rover Spirit: a history][4]
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25 May 2011
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* [Mars rover Spirit: How not to get stuck on Mars][5]
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25 May 2011
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* [Nasa's Mars rover Spirit][6]
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25 May 2011
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* [Nasa designs spaceship to take astronauts to Mars][7]
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25 May 2011
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* [Cosmos Close-Up][8]
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25 May 2011
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The solar-powered Spirit and its twin Opportunity parachuted to opposite ends
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of the Martian southern hemisphere in January 2004 for what was supposed to be
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a three-month mission.
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The golf cart-size rovers were an instant hit with the public who followed the
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rovers' every move as they rolled across the Martian plains and stopped to
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drill into rocks.
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Their greatest achievement was uncovering geologic evidence that Mars, now dry
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and dusty, was far more tropical billions of years ago. The red planet was
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toastier and wetter, conditions that suggest the ancient environment could
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have been favorable for microbial life.
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As far as sibling rivalry went, Opportunity was the overachiever while Spirit
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was every bit the drama queen underdog.
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Soon after landing, Spirit went into critical condition and sent nonsense data
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back to Earth. Engineers had to nurse it back from the brink of death.
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Unlike Opportunity, which landed in an ancient lakebed awash with water-
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forming minerals, Spirit plopped into a Connecticut-sized crater named Gusev
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that contained limited hints of past water.
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Spirit had no choice but to trek toward the hills to make discoveries. It
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managed to shine despite having a rocky start on Mars.
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In 2005, Spirit scaled a mountain the height of the Statute of Liberty. It
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also was the first to record Martian dust devils as they formed, which Nasa
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later made into movie clips.
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As the years passed, Spirit began showing signs of aging.
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In 2006, one of its front wheels stopped spinning, forcing the rover to drive
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backward and drag its lame wheel. More recently, it suffered bouts of amnesia
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by failing to record data to its flash memory.
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Spirit survived three Martian winters, but the hardy rover was no match for
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the latest cold.
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The troubles began in April 2009 when Spirit broke through crusty ground while
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driving backward and became bogged in a sand pit. During attempts to get it
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unstuck, one of the back wheels stopped working - essentially turning Spirit
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into a four-wheel drive.
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Unable to provide roadside assistance, Nasa declared an end to Spirit's mobile
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career in January 2010 - six years after landing - and it became a stationary
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spacecraft.
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A formal farewell is planned at Nasa headquarters after this weekend's
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Memorial Day holiday and will be televised on Nasa TV.
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[X][9] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][10]
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* Share: [Share][9] [ ][11] [ ][12]
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[Tweet][13]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8534801/Mars-rover-Spirit-to-be-
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officially-retired.html
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Telegraph
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## [Space][14]
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* ### [News »][15]
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* ### [World News »][16]
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* ### [North America »][17]
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* ### [USA »][18]
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In science
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[![Cosmos Close-Up: wonders of space from our solar system to the edge of the
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Universe][19] ][8]
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### [Cosmos Close-Up][8]
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[![As Nasa calls time on the Mars Rover Spirit mission][20] ][6]
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### [Nasa's Mars rover Spirit][6]
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[![The Milky Way stretches across the night sky behind a rock arch in Arches
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National Park, Utah. Bret Webster uses the night skies of the national parks
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of his home state of Utah as his canvas to create images that highlight the
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relative insignificance of the Earth in the cosmos.][21] ][22]
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### [The Milky Way over the desert][22]
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[![Space shuttle Endeavour's final mission to the International Space
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Station][23] ][24]
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### [Endeavour's final mission][24]
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[![Space Shuttle Endeavour Launches Under Command Of Astronaut Mark Kelly][25]
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][26]
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### [Live: Endeavour's final launch][26]
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[X][9] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][10]
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Share:
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* [ ][9]
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* [ ][11]
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* [ ][12]
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* [Tweet][13]
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* Advertisement
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![][27]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][28] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][29]
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[![Follow The Telegraph on social media][30]][31]
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Advertisement
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var puffs_8255319 = new Array();
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