Stuck forever in the Martian sand — and still doing science to the end.
This is the spot in Gusev Crater where NASA's Spirit rover — Opportunity's twin — bogged down in soft, sulfate-rich soil in 2009. Rather than giving up, mission scientists used the trapped rover as a stationary science platform until its last transmission in March 2010.
Claim your plot here →Spirit landed three weeks before its twin and spent years climbing the Columbia Hills, where it found opaline silica — a mineral that on Earth forms in hot springs and volcanic steam vents, hinting Gusev once hosted watery, possibly habitable conditions. A dragging front wheel actually helped: churning up bright silica-rich soil as it went.
In 2009 Spirit broke through a crust into soft soil and could not free itself. Unable to tilt its solar panels toward the weak winter sun, the rover eventually lost power and fell silent in March 2010. NASA formally ended recovery efforts in May 2011, after Spirit had run more than six years on a 90-day warranty.