Where's your Spirit?

NASA has all but given up trying to contact the Spirit rover on Mars after being unable to communicate with it since 22 March 2010.

Engineers are now almost certain it's curtains for the plucky little rover that has helped shed light on the red planet.

It's been a staggering success though... it was one of two rovers that landed on the surface of Mars in January 2004 and it was thought their mission would last all but 3 months! Incredibly, the other rover, Opportunity is still scuttling across the planet and returning valuable information. Spirit got stuck in some soft sand in 2009. Here's the first colour picture sent back by Spirit:

'Spirit's 1st Colour Picture on the Red Planet' - NASA/JPL

NASA is now focusing on Curiosity - a Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, which is due to launch at the end of the year, though will occasionally listen-out for any sign that Spirit has come back to life.

'Curiosity' - NASA/JPL-Caltech