Nasa Rover "Spirit" Feared Dead On Mars

Nasa this week has decided it will no longer make any attempts to contact it's long silent Martian rover known as "Spirit." The rover has failed to respond to radio communications and instructions from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Control Center in Florida since March 22, 2010. Daily attempts since that date have been made to reach the rover via UHF radio signals and the only reply has been silence. On May 25, 2011 all attempts to revive the rover ceased. "Spirit" was launched in January of 2004 along with its sister rover "Opportunity" to explore the surface of Mars and radio back data and images in what was expected to be a three month mission. "Spirit" ended up lasting over 6 years and "Opportunity" is still going strong. "Spirit" is believed to have gotten stuck in some kind of a sand trap on the surface of Mars which limited it's ability to roam. It is further believed that it suffered damage to its internal electronics systems while trying to survive it's last Martian winter where it was exposed to temperatures of 55 degrees below zero for extended periods of time.