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NASA has abandoned to rescue rover "Spirit".. / January 28, 2010 /

The U.S. space agency (NASA) decided to abandon further attempts to rescue rover, Spirit »(Spirit), stuck in the sand of the Red Planet in April 2009. The corresponding message appears on the site NASA.

Staff will continue its surveillance, but now it will be based in one place. In the near future scientists are going to prepare him for the coming winter. By sending the rover team, they try to change his position so that the sand storms and the cold caused the least damage to the apparatus.

«Spirit» stuck in the sand on the road to the plateau of Home Plate. He ended up in the sand «trap», fell through the solid-looking surface layer. Underneath the rover, scientists found a large stone, which hindered the movement of the apparatus. Before you begin to rescue «Spirits», the researchers worked out the various tactics on the Earth with the help of models of the rover in full size. Attempts to repeat the specialists spent on Earth of Mars led to the fact that «Spirit» more bogged down in the sand.

«Spirit» and its «twin» Opportunity "were launched to Mars in 2004. It was planned that the machines run for 90 days, but they operate so far, and «Opportunity» has preserved mobility.

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