Russian Blue

[xilman]

At http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8481798.stmwe read:

"Spirit is not dead; it has just entered another phase of its long life," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars exploration programme at Nasa headquarters in Washington DC."

"We told the world last year that attempts to set the beloved robot free may not be successful. It looks like Spirit's current location on Mars will be its final resting place."

Beautiful plumage!


May it rust in peace.


Paul

[smh]

She's not dead yet! If she survives winter she can still do useful sience.

[davieddy]

It's just resting - tire easy the Martian Blue.

[Mini-Geek]

Originally Posted by davieddy

It's just resting - tire easy the Martian Blue.

Beautiful plumage, innit?

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by davieddy

It's just resting - tire easy the Martian Blue.

I was conflating two of the plausible explanations for
its inactivity:
It's probably tired and shagged out after a long squawk.

Or stunned. stun easy the Martian Blue.

Or pining for the fjords...

Enough gay banter for now.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

Beautiful plumage

Nasty echo around here.


Paul

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by xilman

At http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8481798.stmwe read:

Being stuck isn't all bad!

Originally Posted by BBC

Far from being downbeat, Professor Steve Squyres, the rover's principal investigator, expressed some excitement at the scientific possibilities of a static vehicle.

He said the signal from a stationary Spirit could be tracked very accurately, to measure how much Mars wobbles on its axis. This could establish definitively whether the planet had a solid or a liquid core - information that scientists could use to better understand the planet's magnetic history.

This was, he said, "totally new science, never been done before - really fundamental stuff".

"This is something that I didn't really think very much about when we put a rover on the surface of Mars because we were thinking about the geology on the surface. But when you delve deeply into what this vehicle is capable of, you find new tricks; and it's something we're really excited about."

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by cheesehead

Being stuck isn't all bad!

Plus the effects of the interaction between the surface and the atmosphere (drag and all that). Also by being in one spot other things become possible that are not the best use for a mobile rover in a new area, such as: more detailed science on the surface, how exposed soil weathers, taking multiple readings on a single rock at different depths, and more that have not yet been drempt of.

[retina]

Kind of sad when one anthropomorphises it :(

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/spirit.png

[davieddy]

Originally Posted by retina

Kind of sad when one anthropomorphises it :(

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/spirit.png

Indeed. Reminds me of Boxer the workhorse in Animal Farm.

[retina]

Originally Posted by xilman

"Spirit is not dead; it has just entered another phase of its long life," said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars exploration programme at Nasa headquarters in Washington DC."

Looks like Spirit is now dead

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/missi...l.html#sol2274