NASA to abandon Spirit Mars Rover

Re:NASA to abandon Spirit Mars Rover by mturmon on Tuesday May 24, 2011 @11:44PM (#2582762)

Here's a nice pic of a Spirit clone together with Sojourner (from 1997) and the successor to Spirit and Opportunity, MSL:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/images/Dec4_E-3-generation-rove...

MSL (Mars Science Laboratory) should launch late this year:

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/mission/overview/

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Re:NASA to abandon Spirit Mars Rover by ugh on Wednesday May 25, 2011 @12:02AM (#2582797)

That will be one tense Rube Goldberg landing in 2012. A failure would be very disappointing. Phoenix gives at least some hope that NASA has landing with rocket motors on Mars under control.

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Re:NASA to abandon Spirit Mars Rover by fletchowns on Wednesday May 25, 2011 @03:10AM (#2583194)

The way it lands is awesomely elaborate, for anybody who hasn't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BudlaGh1A0o

Watch it in 720p!

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Re:NASA to abandon Spirit Mars Rover by mturmon on Wednesday May 25, 2011 @01:11AM (#2582970)

You're right about the tense landing. The thing that makes it hard is this:

Phoenix mass: 350kg

Spirit/Opportunity mass: 550kg

MSL mass: 900kg

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