Spirit (rover)
Spirit, also known as MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover – A) or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years (2269 days; 6 years, 77 days). It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition. The rover got stuck in a "sand trap" in late 2009 at an angle that hampered recharging of its batteries; its last communication with Earth was on March 22, 2010.
The Mars Exploration Rover-2 (MER-2) during testing for mobility and maneuverability | |
| Mission type | Rover |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2003-027A |
| SATCAT no. | 27827 |
| Website | Mars Exploration Rover |
| Mission duration | Planned: 90 Martian solar days (~92 Earth days) Operational: 2269 days from landing to last contact (2208 sols) Mobile: 1944 Earth days landing to final embedding (1892 sols) Total: 2695 days from landing to mission end (2623 sols) Launch to last contact: 6 years, 9 months, 12 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | Mars Exploration Rover |
| Launch mass | Total: 1,063 kg * rover: 185 kg * lander: 348 kg * backshell/parachute: 209 kg * heat shield: 78 kg * cruise stage: 193 kg * propellant: 50 kg |
| Dry mass | 185 kilograms (408 lb) (Rover only) |
| Power | 140 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | June 10, 2003, 17:58:47 UTC June 10, 2003, 1:58:47 p.m. EDT |
| Rocket | Delta II 7925-9.5 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-17A |
| End of mission | |
| Declared | May 25, 2011 |
| Last contact | March 22, 2010 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Heliocentric (transfer) |
| Mars rover | |
| Spacecraft component | Rover |
| Landing date | January 4, 2004, 04:35 UTC SCET MSD 46216 03:35 AMT |
| Landing site | 14.5684°S 175.472636°E |
| Distance driven | 7.73 km (4.8 mi) |
The launch patch for Spirit, featuring Marvin the Martian NASA Mars rovers | |
The rover completed its planned 90-sol mission (slightly less than 92.5 Earth days). Aided by cleaning events that resulted in more energy from its solar panels, Spirit went on to function effectively over twenty times longer than NASA planners expected. Spirit also logged 7.73 km (4.8 mi) of driving instead of the planned 600 m (0.4 mi), allowing more extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features. Initial scientific results from the first phase of the mission (the 90-sol prime mission) were published in a special issue of the journal Science.
On May 1, 2009 (5 years, 3 months, 27 Earth days after landing; 21 times the planned mission duration), Spirit became stuck in soft sand. This was not the first of the mission's "embedding events" and for the following eight months NASA carefully analyzed the situation, running Earth-based theoretical and practical simulations, and finally programming the rover to make extrication drives in an attempt to free itself. These efforts continued until January 26, 2010, when NASA officials announced that the rover was likely irrecoverably obstructed by its location in soft sand, though it continued to perform scientific research from its current location.
The rover continued in a stationary science platform role until communication with Spirit stopped on March 22, 2010 (sol 2208). JPL continued to attempt to regain contact until May 24, 2011, when NASA announced that efforts to communicate with the unresponsive rover had ended, calling the mission complete. A formal farewell took place at NASA headquarters shortly thereafter.