The aging and tough little 5 wheeled rover seemed to have gotten itself stuck ankle deep in the Martian soil. There is some fear if the rover drivers keep trying to dig out, the rover may bottom out and be resting on it's belly. Lately, power levels have been improved due to some more wind blowing the dust off the solar panels, but despite the power, the rover is stuck. Rover drivers have stopped driving for now and are looking around at the ground to figure out how to get Spirit limping out of it's current sticky situation. One of the 6 wheels had quit working about 3 years ago, and it's been dragging it's leg like a limping puppy since then.Quote from NASA:
"Spirit is in a very difficult situation," JPL's John Callas, project manager for Spirit and its twin rover, Opportunity, said Monday. "We are proceeding methodically and cautiously. It may be weeks before we try moving Spirit again. Meanwhile, we are using Spirit's scientific instruments to learn more about the physical properties of the soil that is giving us trouble."
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