Spirit, the NASA robot that landed on Mars in 2004, appears in this image of a spacecraft orbiting the planet.
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) HiRise camera captures images of the Gusev crater and the Spirit robot’s “resting” location near a rock outcrop called the Home Plate. The photo was taken in late April and was shared by amateur scientist Kevin Gill on Twitter on June 1.
In the photo, Spirit looks like a dusty rock. This is not surprising since it last made contact with Earth in 2010. In early 2011, NASA announced that the mission was over.
Robot Spirit and “twin” Opportunity went to Mars together in 2004. Spirit landed in Gusev Crater, which might once have contained an ancient lake, while Opportunity landed in the Meridiani Plain, which contains mineral deposits. . The objects suggest that Mars was once humid. Opportunity works much longer than the mind. In 2018, a large dust storm blanketed the solar panels, causing the robot’s mission to end.
Dust continues to be a challenge for Martian rovers. NASA’s InSight lander had to scale back its science operations after solar cells picked up dust earlier this year. There are currently 3 robots rolling on the surface of the red planet: Curiosity, Perseverance (NASA) and Zhu Rong (China).
