The Spirit rover, which landed on Mars in 2004, is visible in images taken by the spacecraft orbiting the planet.
NASA’s Spirit rover lies motionless on Mars. (Photo: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Kevin Gill).
The HiRise camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured an image of the Gusev Crater and the “resting place” of the Spirit rover near the rock formation known as Home Plate. The photo was taken in late April and shared by amateur scientist Kevin Gill on social media Twitter on June 1.
In the image, Spirit resembles a rock covered in dust. This is not surprising, as the last time it communicated with Earth was in 2010. In early 2011, NASA declared the mission over.
The Spirit rover and its “twin brother” Opportunity both arrived on Mars in 2004. Spirit landed in the Gusev Crater – which may have once contained an ancient lake, while Opportunity landed in the Meridiani Planum – an area with mineral deposits indicating that Mars was once wet. Opportunity operated for much longer than Spirit. By 2018, a massive dust storm covered its solar panels, ultimately ending its mission.
Dust continues to be a challenging issue for Mars exploration vehicles. NASA’s InSight lander had to reduce its scientific activities after its solar panels became dust-covered earlier this year. Currently, three rovers are traversing the surface of the Red Planet: Curiosity, Perseverance (NASA), and Zhurong (China).
