Spirit rover takes detour for winter

The Mars rover Spirit is being force to survive the Martian winter in a new location because a broken wheel has severely hampered its ability to quickly travel across the Martian terrain. It is imperative that the rover spend the harsh winter months on a north facing slope so that the solar panels on the rover get enough solar energy to continue powering the machine. With the winter quickly approaching, researchers have begun to focus on getting the Mars rover in a location to ensure it will continue to be powered instead of attempting to continue scientific research of the Martian surface. The initial path chosen by the rover operators turned out to be too steep for the Mars rover and it had to be turned around and a new, less difficult but longer path was established. Currently, the rover operators are doing their best to get the Mars rover into a ideal location because the Martian winter comes in at full force.


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