The Last Images We Will Ever Receive From NASA's Spirit on Mars

[@astrumspace]

Enjoy 10% OFF on all Hoverpens and free shipping to most countries with code ASTRUM: North America & other countries: bit.ly/astrum_novium UK & Europe: bit.ly/astrum_noviumeu Spirit playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PL2gLpWRK0QlDzaIs5dhMqpb_bO3EECof_

[@nolanmarion69]

I pre ordered the book months ago and have received no updates or no post about it. Do you have an update on your book ?

[@oumuarice]

Someday, we will go to Mars and recover Spirit, so that probe’s last sight won’t just be that photo.

[@SnackPack913]

How cool would that be in a space exploration museum built on earth 300 years from now after we somehow figure out cheap and frequent cargo missions to mars or even have colonized it. That little robot will be a hero to all 😢

[@eugenebelford9087]

I respectfully disagree. Even once we have the technological level to retrieve it, still conserve it where it is.Just like - for example - raising the Titanic (or any other famous ship) just to display it would be wrong, so it would be wrong to retrieve these rovers from their final resting place. @SnackPack913 I genuinely doubt people 300 years from now would be like this ("hero to all"). Just think about this: Around 300 years ago (1759) John Harrison built the H4 marine chronometer and thus solved the longitude problem in seafaring. How many people today are even aware that this was a major challenge, remember the name John Harrison or H4 or will simply walk past that amazing piece of technology (for its time) without taking notice in the Royal Observatory?

[@mrkshply]

Hopefully one day the next image she sees is of some humans coming to get her 💜

[@paulgracey4697]

Thanks for the synopsis of the life on Mars of one of the two Rovers I contributed to with work on one of the spectrometers you forgot to mention. The Mini-TES instrument was part of how the rover was able to determine where to go next, because it could look many meters away and record what the rocks or soil's minerology was like. Mini-TES is located within the heated part of the body and looks up that mast using fold mirrors to see what the Pan Cam image is centered upon. A fast-fourier spectrogram of whatever in in its narrow field of view is generated for transmission back to earth. It was a small version of the TES (Thermal Emission Spectrometer that we built for the a preceding Orbiter, Mars Global Surveyor used in part to find where the rovers were going to be landed.

[@Geeksmithing]

Thanks for all of your hard work on them!

[@noelstarchild]

Me too, thank you for helping our solar system better understood.

[@dphuntsman]

Thanks for this! - Dave Huntsman

[@SFSStarman]

The ending was soo emotional 😭 I nearly cried. We will never forget you Spirit❤️

[@tallSycamore]

The family portrait of mars vehicles on Perseverance got me choked up.

[@MariaMulholland-y1v]

i did cry

[@SFSStarman]

@@tallSycamore I saw that and nearly teared up

[@sasuke4612]

Good choice of music there with the concluding statement on the rover. Definitely drew out the marvel of human engineering and ingenuity that was required for us (humanity) to be able to do what we’ve accomplished so far. Truly amazing what we have done so far.

[@LoneTiger]

Agreed, music is the salt and pepper of a good story, would like to know the music credits.

[@bluewater82]

Absolutely beautiful. So much time and effort went into this mission.

[@Wojtekpl2]

I remember watching pictures from Mars (!) at home over the Internet. That was incredible. And both rovers meant to work only 90 days were driving on Mars for many YEARS! Talk about over-engineering...

[@laurentitolledo1838]

....talk about too much overtime....

[@firstjayjay]

Yet a mobile phone is useless a few years after you got it..

[@MelindaGreen]

The Spirit rover is still my favorite, due to it's twin navigation cameras which I've used to create several lovely 3D images of some particularly dramatic terrain. I hope all future rovers will contain stereo cameras.

[@spunkmire2664]

can only hope one day these rovers become national monuments or tourist attractions on mars. Perhaps maybe one day serviced and let continue their science.

[@sovietbiscuit9918]

IF SPIRIT AND OPPORTUNITY DON’T GET A MASSIVE MEMORIAL STATUE WE GOTTA RAISE HELL TILL THEY DO

[@dphuntsman]

Thank you for this wonderful final report on Spirit! - Dave Huntsman

[@carpemkarzi]

90 sol mission 2000+ sol life. As humans we tend to give our machines an inner life they never had but…think of the engineers, the programmers, those who sweated blood as that rover bounced its way on the surface…that rover did catty their hopes and dreams. Yeah it’s odd to feel sad about a machine on mars when you step back. However, that’s what fuels or curiosity and our drive to explore and discover. Sleep well, who knows maybe some day in the far flung future, someone within walking distance over and pick it up and bring it home.

[@Beryllahawk]

Someday we'll visit Spirit again.

[@jamessurtees]

How do we all get so emotional about a robot 😭

[@flotinaway7]

It's almost one of us

[@rainbowbutterflyfan]

I still have my oppy shirt

[@jimrello7878]

We don't

[@Carsia]

Thought it was just me. 😂

[@nopesir9909]

Because they are symbols of the best parts of humanity. Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Perseverance are a little part of who we are and always will be.

[@Mooncake69420]

We've come so far in pursuit of truth. I hope we never become content with our understanding

[@mistergoats4380]

You won't be alone forever friend. We are coming

[@istvansipos9940]

- me. robot. go. explore harsh planet. - Hey, that's the spirit!

[@BB-rh2ml]

Another great video

[@robsin2810]

Rover, your memories are now implemented in ours. 🇦🇺👍

[@igors_lv]

Seems a bit silly naming every rock, but you need to pass those winters somehow I guess 🤪

[@sc1338]

All for fun and science

[@Geeksmithing]

The pronunciation of Geysers is fantastic!

[@DinoRodriguez]

Another phenomenal monologue from Astrum, we thank you for taking us through another amazing journey as well as for your research and hard mate 🙏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@Elinzar]

One day, we for sure will bring these robots back and put them in museums

[@Aleiza_49]

Thank you, Spirit. 🫡

[@AnthonyElsom]

Both Spirit and Opportunity exceeded their initial life expectancy by far, thanks for filling in the dots of a often forgotten rover, very much like Curiosity, which is still limping it's way with worn wheels.

[@hugovilag]

See you, Space Cowboy!

[@sc1338]

Such a cute little rover

[@mason96575]

I’m 100% sure engineers have been through so, so many different plans to address the dust-on-panels issue - But I’m so curious as to their reasoning behind not approving something simple - like a very, very light and basic motor that would control a spinning brush type of device. Doesn’t even have to move around the panels- just like 2 or 3 of them in key areas. Sure they’d use a lot of power - but if they’re able to restore the capability of those panels from say, 10% up to like 60% +? Wouldn’t the amount of power it’d take to spin those brushes for a few seconds be worth it? And wouldn’t they be able to just be spun again every few months? I’m really, really curious as to why they would have not approved something basic like that. I’m 100% sure they have spectacular reasoning behind it - Just want to know what that is! 😅

[@anthonycordovano2438]

I always thought the same thing about a way to clear dust from the solar panels. My thought though was a puff of "air", well Mars atmospheric gas. A small compressor on the lander that would then emit a small puff to blow the dust off. Brushes would need a electro-mechanical system whose weight could be problematic and possibly scratch the solar cells. A compact compressor could also weigh too much and gas puff may also scratch the cells. All that said, it would be interesting if either brush's or gas puffs were considered or not and the reason for omitting them.

[@mason96575]

@@anthonycordovano2438 compressed air/gas would be a far, far better option than electric powered brushes - you are correct! And the fact they haven’t used something like that tells me they must have some reasoning behind not doing so… It can’t be something like “the idea is so simple, actual rocket-scientists didn’t think of it because of its simplicity”, right? 🤣

[@anthonycordovano2438]

​@@mason96575 "Rocket Scientist's", whoda thunk! LOL

[@hifi6638]

Consider the panels worked well enough to outlast the capability of the rover to move. 2 broken wheels and half sunken as if partly in quicksand. Yes it could still have done something. But they far outlasted other crucial components- and way beyond the projected lifespan. The brushes and motors might seem simple and small. But they likely would have cost the placement of other functions. I’m working on Substack about the foundation years of the space program. With Apollo, the addition of one pound to the craft or supplies would require an additional 150 gallons of fuel in the first stage of the Saturn V.

[@user-mo5hz9kp6y]

Put motors on the panels and simply flap them to dislodge the dust.

[@matthewboire6843]

We must recover curiosity and spirit when we go to mars

[@11111972cjb]

Talking about pens reminds me of a story I heard years ago about America spending a huge amount of money making a pen that would work in space. The Russians used pencils😂😂😂 I believe it is a true story but maybe Alex can throw more light on the subject? What a great video Alex! It made me more interested in the video having names to different places. I love the name “Home Plate” thank you Alex we appreciate what you do!

[@tridiminished]

Our society is capable of such greatness. I wish more persons saw this.

[@Shanghaimartin]

Never understood why they don't have brushes on these things for the solar panels. Surely the adding of maybe 100-200g of extra weight for a lightly bristled brush arm or two to swipe over the panels is well worth the trade off for keeping the power generation much higher and mission lasting longer.

[@thirstyCactus]

17:18 What's with the scary dissonant crescendo?

[@thebenefactor6744]

I'm not generating H²O droplets mixed with NaCl. You're generating H²O droplets mixed with NaCl!

[@deanedge5988]

Literally marvelous. Thank you.

[@lucidmoses]

Nicely done.

[@PeterKertesz2013]

This video is amazing. Thank you! 🚀

[@the_Texas_Bandit]

As a point of interest and my ignorance, did the engineers ever try to use the arm platform to push pull the rover out of the sand trap ? Sort of the way an excavator (heavy equipment) would. Excavators are tracked platforms that are prone to getting stuck in severe mud / wattery conditions. If they could use the arm to reach the ground and lift the side of the platform out of the sand, perhaps it could have been wiggled to a movement salvageable situation.

[@wilk1nson277]

I had the same thought so I did a bit of research and I conclude the following reasons as to why this was not done. The arms could only reach over the front wheels, not over the back wheels which were stuck. The arm was also not designed for the strength required to move the rover as you suggest. There was also a risk of the arm digging into the ground under the weight of the rover when pressing on the ground with that much force, becoming trapped and unusable.

[@sdgsuperstar]

While the video may pay tribute to Spirit and its final images, few in the public truly understand the significance of the data Spirit collected during its mission. The messages and lessons about studying Mars come not only from the final moments, but also from the discoveries and scientific data these rovers provide over the years. Communication of scientific achievements could be made clearer so that the public can better appreciate what these missions have contributed.

[@charlesReed239]

Windshield wipers+ dust buster = clean solar panels. Come on NASA, WTH? Great video. Going to miss all the science.

[@svenf.9784]

Beached like Stroll in Brazil 🏎️

[@matthewboire6843]

Spirit has done her part, she will be remembered.

[@nolaspeaker5656]

Elon's team will fetch her in person and place her inside a glass case to inspire future gen's.

[@matthewboire6843]

@ that seems reasonable yeah

[@PoltergeistHC4L]

Spirit: "Thats a cool rock!" Nasa: "Thats a doomsday astroid"

[@photospace7]

Thank you for alla the educotional videos Astrum!

[@brunonikodemski2420]

We are still looking for that "Oasis", where astronauts could doff their spacesuits, splash around in the water, and yell Marco Polo at each other. The air pressure on Mars is less than one-onehundreth of that on Earth. As such it is a vacuum for us (besides being poisonous). Where are you going to go for a Moonlight walk, and what will you do with your Honey, when encased in a 200 pound (earth weight) spacesuit? The Mojave and Sahara deserts are far more hospitable. Just like the lyrics of a famous song, "when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn". That there's nothing up there, worth going for.

[@kaydabalab]

WOAH hearingn "paso robles made my head turn" hahaha I know where that is in the usa

[@xaraxania]

did nobody in the great mastermind of the NASA experts think of putting a small brush or cloth on board to enable it to brush its own solar panels clean, surely it would have been worth a little more weight if it meant getting a cleaner panel for more power?

[@dougtheslug6435]

Red Rover, Red Rover, let Spirit come over. RIP little guy

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Alex! ⚙

[@Cannabis_Connoisseur]

Can you imagine walking around in your back yard one day and all the sudden a robot drives up the hill and starts taking pics etc. You then figure out its not from your home planet and is being controlled in nearly real time.😂😂😂😂😂

[@UNIVERSOENUNACAJA]

I was waiting for this episode for a while! ☺️🙌🏼

[@ValleyProud916]

You would think someone would figure out a way to blow or brush the godamn solar panels clean!

[@Abir_Mahmud_Shohan-_-]

I wonder maybe one day when human makes a Colony on Mars, they will be able to preserve it as a site to go and watch and know about it !

[@djp1234]

I still can't believe that the smartest people on earth couldn't install a brush on it to clean the dust off.

[@user-mo5hz9kp6y]

Spirit isn't a write off. Far from it. One day a Marsling will come along, fix it, and then order it to drive itself into a museum. Same with Opportunity. Afterwards it'll sit next to the Russian Mars probe, the Chinese probe, Pathfinder, and Curiosity and Perseverance after the nuclear cores have been removed, and all the others. All fixed and restored and possibly even after being recycled and dropped somewhere else. Children will make models of them and the models will sit on dioramas sprinkled with real Mars dust, and working copies of all sizes will be crawling all over the planet and the moon. Spirit isn't dead at all. It's just asleep and waiting for a new sunrise on Mars sometime in the future.

[@thirstyCactus]

2:20 Did you mean 0.1 Amps? Voltage doesn't make sense as a unit of short-circuit.

[@mal2ksc]

0.1 ohms probably.

[@thirstyCactus]

@@mal2ksc Normally, I'd agree, but 0.1Ω would be a killer short!

[@PortShaftBrake]

Assume he means a short circuit causing either the Cell Voltage or motor voltage to drop by 0.1V due to the additional current draw the short causes.

[@PortShaftBrake]

Cells have internal resistance, so an increase in load will cause the potential difference at the poles to decrease if the resistance of the load decreases (i.e. a short circuit) even if the battery still has the same charge because of Kirchhoff's law giving the internal resistance a greater share of the potential.

[@thirstyCactus]

@@PortShaftBrake That could be equally true. It's an odd way to measure a "short", as it's dependent on the supply's internal resistance and position along the wiring.

[@SonOfRamenEgg]

Past time to bring the cutting edge technology called the "windshield wiper" to solar panels landing on planets.

[@cramboneusf]

I didn’t think I’d cry for a robot but here we are.

[@panpanotaku3190]

Bruh, why do I cry more at rover deaths than I do for humans 😭

[@Alan_Gor_Forester]

Thanks!

[@AxionSmurf]

Short Circuit reboot starring Spirit, the sassy Mars rover

[@GggHhh-t2p]

Story of a robot bringing me to tears

[@MaySinMelodyBox]

First national (planetary actually since it's a multi national achievement) monument which will have a statue

[@pwr2ppl183]

I don’t understand why they don’t fit the rovers with a means to clear dust off its solar panels???

[@sekelus]

it is so weird and cool to be emotionally attached to a robot on another planet :)

[@Catladybug]

I remember when they thought they would only last a few years and they lasted several years instead!!! Amazing science. Then its fallow sibling to improve science of the wheels etc

[@ImplodedAtom]

The family portrait and Sophie broke me 😢

[@joeyvelarde5562]

Love the smiles of happiness❤❤❤❤

[@ArtVideoProductions]

Maybe the next probe they send should have ultrasonic cleaning capabilities on the solar panels or at least regular vibration and maybe some brushes acting like windshield wipers or even air jets shooting at the panels. 🤷‍♂️

[@wanderingriver4339]

My understanding is that the moons of Mars will break apart and form a ring, not impact the surface.

[@mal2ksc]

Phobos, yes. Deimos is far enough out that it's spiraling out, not in.

[@renatojrodriguez7469]

Great job Spirit on Mars

[@pleasestopscreaming]

Teared up a lil at the family portrait 😭

[@puffinjuice]

I drink champagne by myself. Nothing wrong with that!

[@dilmatjo]

“The whole world was watching” does this mean Martians are real?? ;))

[@finzenberger]

what have you done, howard wolowitz?

[@tgreaux5027]

how did the engineers not take into account martian dust settling on the solar panels?!?!

[@oJezler]

They did, but as it was only meant to operate for 90 sol missions, they did not expect dust accumulation to become a significant problem. Adding a dust cleaning mechanism would have increased the rover's weight and design complexity.

[@wizardchairman3691]

*You need MARS GUY for SCALE*

[@Duise-j9f]

Thanks 😅

[@benGman69]

I don’t believe for one second that a seven year old girl new of or could even comprehend the word Perseverance

[@nwhydoyoucareo]

she didn't. it was spirit and opportunity that she named.

[@Scootz_]

So inspiring ;_;

[@Receipt]

Some of us will probably live long enough to see a picture of Elon musk holding this thing up.

[@chadevans4922]

Does this mean that even if the solar panels are cleaned, the rover will no longer generate power to reactivate itself? I can run the power down on my phone to zero. But if I give it a source of power to recharge, it will turn on again.

[@oJezler]

mars reaches temps of -100°C (-148°F) and electronics basically just die without the heaters

[@sdcoinshooter]

I have wondered, why can’t we devise some method of cleaning the solar panels?

[@captain-k4dd]

Isn't Spirit the first failed of the twin rovers alongside Opportunity? I thought it survived for a very short time. Can someone give me some info, I seem to be confused.

[@HattmannenNilsson]

Do please check your subtitles! I think you're maybe saying Watt hours (Wh), but your curated captions claims that you're referring to some other obscure unit denoted by small "W" per hour which I can't find any reference to, so I can't really tell. I don't know if that is some strange imperial unit that I've never heard of, but if so please give a conversion to SI units on screen. Most of the world are now, a century and a bit on, quite familiar with the SI units. When using non-standard units like w/h, please provide an internationally accepted conversion on-screen or at least in the captions. I've really no idea what you're talking about when referring to the capacity of the solar panels other than it has to do with some rate of change per hour as far as I can tell.

[@meinjapan]

They sent Johnny 5 to Mars!😜

[@GangGang1]

How long is the mars winter?

[@Martin_Hermann]

Amazing how much effort they put into faking this whole Mars thing.

[@rudybriskar5267]

Too bad Spirit wasn't able to fold it's shield over itself then unfold itself to shed dust and sand.

[@cavecavecavecave5295]

This is going to sound like a stupid question, given the combined engineering brainpower that goes into building a planetary rover. But why don't you make the solar panels positional? To help with dust removal, and optimum solar collection.

[@senseisky]

They probably want to reduce the complexity & moving parts that'll fail while keeping energy usage in mind.... It might also have something to do with weight distribution... Btw solar light on earth vs on mars ain't the same scenario

[@Code_Production]

my energy is getting to low and it is cold initiating hibernation mode.... no signal detected ever since

[@deebusoh9023]

The landing is capture video by who or just imagine?

[@AdrianCarlisle]

Short circuit movie 😍

[@worldofronkuhnel]

Haralld not to cry

[@tonycosta3302]

Who is naming these rocks and landmarks? They show an amazing lack of imagination.

[@andymouse]

A short of 0.1 volts ? a short would be measured in Ohms and if it were 0.1 Ohms its a dead short or near as sod it ?

[@Yehan-xt7cw]

Alex probably meant: A short that caused a 0.1V drop. But yeah, it's not correct.

[@andymouse]

@Yehan-xt7cw :)

[@ljre3397]

Wasn’t it Spirit and Opportunity? Did Opportunity die?

[@jimmyjames2022]

Don't we need to reference XKCD comic number 695 (January 29, 2010)? Still makes me sad.

[@RattyFir3812]

FIRST! MERRY CHRISTMAS ASTRUM! YOUR CHANNEL ROCKS!

[@ScotsmanGamer]

all caps screaming petulant attention child

[@Topgearspace]

🚀