HiRISE Captures Amazing Close-Up of Spirit Rover

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The HiRISE team released some new images on Wednesday — one of which was another incredible avalanche image. But then there was another shot of Gusev Crater, the home of the Spirit rover. It was a wide shot of the entire region (you can see it below), and visible are the Columbia Hills, and if you look real close you can see the “Home Plate” region where Spirit sits. Our friend Stu Atkinson took a real close look and found Spirit sitting all alone –but very visible in this wonderfully amazing zoom-in closeup! (Click the image for access to a larger version). Stu also colorized it to show almost intricate detail of Spirit’s solar panels. The image was taken on Feb. 15, 2010, and she looks great! She’s in her current stationary position, and even though this image is from before she went into hibernation, it’s great to know she’s still sitting there, waiting for warmer days. “Hang in there rover, hang in there…” Stu said on Twitter, which echoes all our sentiments. Awww, Spirit….

Thanks to Stu and HiRISE for keeping our hopes alive!

Stu has also written a few of wonderful items about Spirit: A poem called Spirit Shivering, a great story about someone who maybe could travel to Mars and free Spirit, and a great blog post titled, “Spirit, Time to Rest.” Stu is a very talented writer and image editor, so check out his incredible handiwork!