

Spirit obit - motters
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/news/mer20110525.html

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timerickson
It may be wise to change the title to use the full word "obituary," instead of
something that might be read as "orbit."

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jtgeibel
I ran into the same confusion when trying to parse the title.

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AndrewO
I'll admit I'm struggling not to anthropomorphize Spirit too much here. Maybe
it's the face-like features of the mast mounted pan-cam. Maybe it's that XKCD
strip from awhile back...

Or maybe it's the compelling story of excellent engineering that created
something able to keep expanding our knowledge of the Universe so much beyond
what was planned.

Either way, I can't help but feel a twinge of sadness, even as I say
congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to make it the succes it was.

~~~
protomyth
I too feel a little sad on this one, but I did like the extend version of the
comic posted in the forum
[http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=55907&sta...](http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=55907&start=280#p1997605)

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pforpal
The mars rover project is a source of inspiration for hackers everywhere. JPL
should be applauded for the successful design and deployment of a "product" in
some of the harshest imaginable conditions and then have it exceed
expectations more than 10 times over. A testament to what can be accomplished
with a billion dollars.

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noibl
From the images in the video, the blogging from last year and the fate of
previous missions, it seems likely that a major factor in the shutdown was
dust on the solar panels[1] which combined with low-light winter conditions to
compromise the health of the electronics when they could no longer be heated.
Future rovers may be able to self-clean the panels[1], giving a much longer
theoretical lifespan (at least for this component).

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaning_event>

[2]
[http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.asp...](http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=26116)

