Approves Funding For Another Six Months

NASA is as surprised as everyone else that its two Mars rover vehicles, Spirit and Opportunity, are still going.

In fact, the agency hadn’t initially approved funding for the program beyond the primary three-month mission. After all... who’d have thought the spunky little robots would still be going after almost a year?

Surprised or not, NASA is very happy with the data it’s getting from them -- so it’s approved another six-months of funding to keep the program running. Or, er, crawling.

"Spirit and Opportunity appear ready to continue their remarkable adventures," said Andrew Dantzler, solar system division director at NASA headquarters in Washington, DC.

The Associated Press reports the decision came after JPL engineers re-established contact with Spirit and Opportunity following a 12-day communications blackout. JPL wasn’t able to talk to its mechanical surveyors while the Sun passed between Earth and Mars.

"Although Spirit and Opportunity are well past warranty, they are showing few signs of wearing out," said project manager Jim Erickson. "We really don't know how long they will keep working, whether days or months. We will do our best to continue getting the maximum possible benefit from these great national resources."

Which means NASA seems willing to keep the faith... as long as the rovers continue to bring home the mail.

FMI: www.nasa.gov