Thu, May 26, 2011
NASA Concludes Attempts To Contact Long-Lived Mars Rover
NASA is ending attempts to regain contact with the long-lived
Mars Exploration Rover Spirit, which last communicated on March 22,
2010.
Spirit Rover After 2004 Deployment
A transmission that will end on Wednesday, May 25, will be the
last in a series of attempts. Extensive communications activities
during the past 10 months also have explored the possibility that
Spirit might reawaken as the solar energy available to it increased
after a stressful Martian winter without much sunlight. With
inadequate energy to run its survival heaters, the rover likely
experienced colder internal temperatures last year than in any of
its prior six years on Mars. Many critical components and
connections would have been susceptible to damage from the
cold.
Engineers' assessments in recent months have shown a very low
probability for recovering communications with Spirit.
Communications assets that have been used by the Spirit mission in
the past, including NASA's Deep Space Network of antennas on Earth,
plus two NASA Mars orbiters that can relay communications, now are
needed to prepare for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission. MSL
is scheduled to launch later this year.
"We're now transitioning assets to support the November launch
of our next generation Mars rover, Curiosity," said Dave Lavery,
program executive for solar system exploration. "However, while we
no longer believe there is a realistic probability of hearing from
Spirit, the Deep Space Network may occasionally listen for any
faint signals when the schedule permits."
Spirit Rover In 2009
Spirit landed on Mars on Jan. 3, 2004, for a mission designed to
last three months. After accomplishing its prime-mission goals,
Spirit worked to accomplish additional objectives. Its twin,
Opportunity, continues active exploration of Mars.
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