spacetoday.net: Mars rover spotted from orbit

Posted: Wed, Nov 28, 2007, 7:29 AM ET (1229 GMT)
MRO image of Spirit on Home Plate region of Mars (NASA/Univ. of Arizona)

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted one of the agency's twin Mars rovers as it seeks a sunny location to weather the upcoming Martian winter. The MRO image, released Monday, revealed the Mars rover Spirit as a small dark object near one edge of a light-colored plateau known as Home Plate. Spirit, which is approaching the fourth anniversary of its landing in the Gusev Crater region of the planet, is in the process of moving to a spot on a north-facing slope of the plateau to maximize the amount of sunlight it can receive during the upcoming winter. The rover, though, has gotten stuck in loose soil on a sloping region of Home Plate, although it is making some slow progress through the region after controllers uploaded new driving commands.