14 DAY TRIAL // An amazing video posted on YouTube yesterday, November 14, shows the entire journey of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Spirit on the surface of Mars. The time-lapse clip covers everything from the moment the robot was deployed to when it became embedded in loose sand and had to be abandoned.
Spirit spent more than five years exploring the Red Planet, but was on Mars for longer than that. It arrived there in January 2004, and contact was lost on March 22, 2010. On May 24, the explorations robot was finally laid to rest at Troy, the name experts gave to the patch of loose sand that trapped it.
This video is put together from images the rover collected throughout its entire mission. It shows it moving across the Martian surface, investigating rocks and other geological formations, and climbing uphill on several occasions.
It ends by showing how the machine became embedded in Troy. While exceeded its planned mission time more than 22 times over, the robot also gained a lot of fans, who were very sad to see it go. This is another way for them to show their appreciation for Spirit.