Spirit Rover Path

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Spirit drove 4.8 miles (7.73 kilometers), more than 12 times its mission goal, covering an immense distance across a vast plain to reach a distant range of hills that rose like gentle giants on the horizon from the landing site. The rover then climbed steep slopes up to 30 degrees, making Spirit the first robot to summit a hill on another planet with ease and precision. It continued to drive more than half a mile (nearly a kilometer) after its right-front wheel became immobile in 2006, defying expectations with its remarkable resilience. The rover returned an astonishing 124,000 images, capturing breathtaking vistas of the Martian landscape. It also ground the surfaces off 15 rock targets and scoured 92 targets with a brush to prepare them for inspection with advanced spectrometers and a microscopic imager, unlocking secrets of the Martian geology.