Spirit, Mars
Like many of NASA’s Mars rovers, Spirit stayed operational well past its expected lifespan. And when it finally did succumb to the Red Planet’s hospitality, it wasn’t the extremely thin atmosphere or frigid temperatures that did it in. It wasn’t even an intense dust storm like the one Opportunity faced. Nope, it was some soft dirt that acted like quicksand, trapping Spirit in place in May 2009. By January 2010, Spirit had been reclassified as a stationary science instrument.
But the rover—ahem, stationary science instrument—was stuck at such an angle that it wasn’t getting enough power from its solar panels. In March 2010, Spirit went quiet, and NASA hasn’t heard from the rover since. Its last panorama shows the crater that became its final resting place. Perhaps when humans one day get to Mars, they can finally set the rover free.
