After six years of roaming the Red Planet, travelling days for the Mars rover Spirits are over.
Spirit has been stuck in a patch of soft, sandy soil since April 2009. After months of testing escape manoeuvres with two mock rovers on Earth, NASA began attempts to rescue Spirit in November 2009.
The rover's three left wheels are almost entirely buried and have little traction, and two of its right wheels are broken and must be dragged or pushed.
If it survives the upcoming Martian winter, it could be used as a stationary research lab to help study the planet's interior.
Some of Spirits' more amusing discoveries.
[VIA]