Sam’s Weekly Serving of NeRd: Spirit’s on Mars! (and Transformers)

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Spirit
Spirit rover

Personally, I believe that it’s the Transformers trying to send us a message, but think what you will.

The Mars rover, Spirit, has been rather unlucky since its launch in early 2004.  The original mission, along with twin rover, Opportunity, was supposed to last three months.  However, they got a job extention and are still working on our friend Mars.  Just weeks after landing in a Martian crater in 2004, Spirit went haywire and transmitted gibberish to Earth (sound Transformer-like?).  Engineers eventually nursed it back to health.

Transformer?
Could this be what caused Spirit to fall?

More recently, the little “drama queen” fell backward into a pit and is now stuck in the fluffy sand of the Red Planet (the Decepticons kicked it in, I’m sure of it). The attempt to regain Spirit’s mobility has been underway since April.  If things don’t go so well, it will become a Mars lander (immobile).  It’s been a particularly rough year for Spirit.  Besides getting stuck in a sand rut, it suffered sporadic bouts of amnesia and other woes including sudden computer reboots (brainwashed by Decepticons, perhaps?).

In the mean time, Opportunity is doing quite well and cruising along, sending clear messages to Earth (they have yet to get to it…).  Currently, it is drilling into a dark-toned rock that scientists think may be a stoney meteorite.

Hopefully, all will be well for Spirit and Opportunity, and the Decepticons will leave the twin rovers to complete their mission in peace ;).