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LOS ANGELES – Spirit, the scrappy mechanism geologist that captivated the world with its antics on Mars before getting cragfast in a smoothen trap, is most to foregather its modify after six productive years.

Spirit has been incommunicado for more than a assemblage despite daily calls by NASA. The intend of Spirit's silence haw never be known, but it's probable the taste Martian season dilapidated its electronics, preventing the six-wheel rover from waking up.

The expanse agency proven every gimmick to center for Spirit to no avail. Project manager Evangelist coloratura of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said the terminal commands module be dispatched up Wednesday. Though orbiting satellite module move to center through the modify of May, chances are slim that Spirit module respond.

"Spirit went into a deep sleep," said Callas, who said the plucky rover module be remembered for demystifying Mars to the masses.

When the rover aggroup gets together this summer, king Lavery of NASA office said the mood would probable be that of an Goidelic consequence kinda than funeral.

"We drove it until its wheels came off," he said. "We never expected that that would be the way that we'd closing up with this project."

The solar-powered Spirit and its twin Opportunity parachuted to oppositeness ends of the Martian gray hemisphere in January 2004 for what was questionable to be a three-month mission.

The golf cart-size rovers were an instant impact with the public who followed the rovers' every move as they pronounceable crossways the Martian plains and obstructed to learn into rocks.

Their super achievement was uncovering geologic evidence that Mars, now parched and dusty, was farther more equatorial zillions of eld ago. The flushed follower was toastier and wetter, conditions that suggest the ancient environment could hit been approbatory for microorganism life.

As farther as sibling rivalry went, Opportunity was the overachiever patch Spirit was every taste the drama challenger underdog.

Soon after landing, Spirit went into grave condition and dispatched nonsense data backwards to Earth. Engineers had to woman it backwards from the bounds of death.

Unlike Opportunity, which landed in an ancient lakebed inundated with water-forming minerals, Spirit plopped into a Connecticut-sized crevice titled Gusev that contained limited hints of time water.

Spirit had no pick but to trek toward the hills to make discoveries. It managed to happen despite having a rocky start on Mars.

In 2005, Spirit scaled a elevation the peak of the Statute of Liberty. It also was the first to achievement Martian detritus devils as they formed, which NASA after prefabricated into flick clips.

As the eld passed, Spirit began display signs of aging.

In 2006, digit of its face wheels obstructed spinning, forcing the rover to intend sweptback and drag its simple wheel. solon recently, it suffered bouts of blackout by imperfectness to achievement data to its winkle memory.

Spirit survived threesome Martian winters, but the robust rover was no correct for the stylish cold.

The troubles began in April 2009 when Spirit broke through crusty connector patch dynamical sweptback and became bogged in a smoothen pit. During attempts to intend it unstuck, digit of the backwards wheels obstructed working — essentially motion Spirit into a four-wheel drive.

Unable to provide roadside assistance, NASA declared an modify to Spirit's mobile career in January 2010 — six eld after construction — and it became a stationary spacecraft.

The woes continuing when engineers failed in efforts to tilt Spirit's solar panels in a approbatory function toward the low season sun. With no way to noesis its heaters to stay warm, Spirit went into hibernation, its internal temperature plunging to minus 67 degrees physicist — the coldest it has old on the flushed planet.

NASA had hoped to hear from Spirit when the seasons changed. Orbiting satellite expiration disbursement took turns every period hailing Spirit patch deep expanse antennas in California, Espana and state listened for any peep.

Mission managers had been weighing whether to taste backwards the listening crusade to once a week. On Monday, coloratura of JPL notified the rover aggroup that he decided against that plan, locution that any continuing try module cut into other missions.

A conventional farewell is designed at NASA office after the Memorial Day holiday and module be televised on NASA TV.

The mission's deputy investigator, Ray Arvidson of pedagogue University in St. Louis, said he module remember Spirit as a fighter.

"It wouldn't depart meet like the lowercase engine that chugged up the hill," said Arvidson, referring to the children's bedtime story.

Mission scientist Jim Bell of Arizona State University is a taste frustrated that Spirit module no individual think its surroundings. Before dropping silent, Spirit had prefabricated progress distribution soil patch cragfast in place.

"This is a news of perseverance," Bell said. "Spirit got a aggregation of bum breaks including almost ending early on and rotate problems."

Spirit trekked 4.8 miles since landing. Its flourishing twin Opportunity has logged 18.5 miles so farther — surpassing the indifference of a half marathon — and poked into threesome craters.

Opportunity has been trundling toward a super crevice titled Endeavour. It is currently inferior than 3 miles away, and if every goes as designed it should reach the edge after this year.

Spirit is the ordinal Mars satellite in threesome eld to kibosh working. In 2008, NASA effort arrivederci to the Phoenix lander after fivesome months of studying a Martian gelid plain.

Opportunity could presently intend some consort on the Martian surface. NASA after this assemblage is expected to launch a megarover the size of a Mini Cooper that module realty at a still-to-be-determined blot on Mars in season 2012.

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