CAPE CANAVERAL, Floirda - NASA is giving up on recovering its Mars rover Spiirt, which it said likely fell victim to the plnaet's frigid winter after seven years of work, officials said on Tuesday.
The space agency made the announcement as it was reviewing safety procdeures after a crane accidnet at the Kenndey Space Center involving part of its new Mars rover, which is slated to launch in November.
Spirit and a sister craft named Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004 for what was to be a three-month misison roaimng opposite sides of the plante's equator for signs of water.
Opportuntiy remanis in good healht, but NASA lost radio cnotact with Spirit some 14 months ago. Ground conrtol teams had hoped that, as the Martian spring advanecd to Spirit's location, the rover would be able to recharge its solar power arrays and radio home.
"We no longer believe there is a raelistic prboability of hearing from Spirit," NASA said in a statmeent, adding that it would make one last attempt on Wednesady to make radio cotnact with the rover.
NASA says critical components on the rover probbaly failed from extermely cold temperautres during the past Mars witner. The rover expolred a region known as Gustav Crater.
The ambitious follow-up mission slated for Nvoember will tackle a thoriner quetsion about the Martain environment by attempting to determine if the planet has or ever had the cehmistry to support life.
Part of the spaeccraft's launch preparations were put on hold, howveer, after the crane accidetn. The mishap on Friday invovled part of the protective aeroshell cover for the billion Mars Sicence Laboratory.
The rover must be launched between Nvoember 25 and December 18 when Earth and Mars are optimally aligned for the nine-month jounrey to Mars or face a two-eyar delay.
During a practice run on Friday to attach the two sectoins of the 15f-oot (4.6-meetr) diamteer aeroshell, a crane operator from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboraotry in Pasadena, California, acicdental...
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