1
00:00:52,070 --> 00:00:49,640
this experience of spirit is something

2
00:00:53,630 --> 00:00:52,080
that I really kind of integrated into my

3
00:00:55,490 --> 00:00:53,640
whole identity you know this has become

4
00:00:57,140 --> 00:00:55,500
part of what I do and it looked at the

5
00:00:58,610 --> 00:00:57,150
very beginning of the mission like this

6
00:01:00,590 --> 00:00:58,620
was going to be something that I got to

7
00:01:03,020 --> 00:01:00,600
do for very brief time for three months

8
00:01:04,010 --> 00:01:03,030
and that was terrific and it was meeting

9
00:01:06,590 --> 00:01:04,020
with special I was really looking

10
00:01:07,850 --> 00:01:06,600
forward to it and I never in my wildest

11
00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:07,860
imagination believed it was going to go

12
00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:11,250
on for five years spirit really has had

13
00:01:15,980 --> 00:01:13,770
to have a lot of spirit to to keep going

14
00:01:18,050 --> 00:01:15,990
it's been the little Rover that could in

15
00:01:22,070 --> 00:01:18,060
a way it's had to work very hard for all

16
00:01:24,710 --> 00:01:22,080
of its discoveries shortly after spirit

17
00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:24,720
landed we had a problem we lost contact

18
00:01:30,139 --> 00:01:27,330
with the rover for a couple of days this

19
00:01:32,030 --> 00:01:30,149
was a particularly scary time because

20
00:01:33,859 --> 00:01:32,040
not only had we lost contact with one of

21
00:01:35,060 --> 00:01:33,869
the Rovers and we didn't know why we had

22
00:01:37,310 --> 00:01:35,070
another Rover coming in for a landing

23
00:01:38,870 --> 00:01:37,320
harden her heels and we didn't know if

24
00:01:40,730 --> 00:01:38,880
whatever it happened the first Rover was

25
00:01:43,370 --> 00:01:40,740
going to happen to the second one it

26
00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:43,380
turned out that we were able to regain

27
00:01:47,870 --> 00:01:46,170
control of spirit she had filled up her

28
00:01:49,700 --> 00:01:47,880
own memory system or the equivalent of

29
00:01:51,529 --> 00:01:49,710
her hard disk and she couldn't boot up

30
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:51,539
and she started booting up and said oh

31
00:01:55,969 --> 00:01:53,490
look my hard disk is full I can't boot

32
00:01:57,230 --> 00:01:55,979
up let me try rebooting and so she was

33
00:01:59,960 --> 00:01:57,240
basically just sitting there on Mars

34
00:02:01,310 --> 00:01:59,970
punching her own reboot button until we

35
00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:01,320
finally came along and figured out what

36
00:02:06,230 --> 00:02:02,610
was going on were able to get her to

37
00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:06,240
stop one of spirits very dramatic

38
00:02:11,449 --> 00:02:09,090
challenges was when she was racing the

39
00:02:12,770 --> 00:02:11,459
clock for her first trying to get to her

40
00:02:13,970 --> 00:02:12,780
first winter haven to try to get to a

41
00:02:15,350 --> 00:02:13,980
hill where she could point her solar

42
00:02:17,569 --> 00:02:15,360
panels directly toward the Sun and

43
00:02:19,340 --> 00:02:17,579
survive for the winter and she was

44
00:02:21,410 --> 00:02:19,350
already behind a little bit behind

45
00:02:24,259 --> 00:02:21,420
schedule and she was racing across these

46
00:02:26,990 --> 00:02:24,269
Plains toward the hill and as she was on

47
00:02:28,370 --> 00:02:27,000
her way her right front wheel which have

48
00:02:31,250 --> 00:02:28,380
been giving us some trouble finally

49
00:02:33,979 --> 00:02:31,260
stopped working and so now instead of

50
00:02:35,509 --> 00:02:33,989
having a six-wheeled rover we had a

51
00:02:37,460 --> 00:02:35,519
rover with five wheels and an anchor

52
00:02:38,750 --> 00:02:37,470
we've ended up having to drive backwards

53
00:02:39,540 --> 00:02:38,760
because it's a lot easier to pull an

54
00:02:42,870 --> 00:02:39,550
anchor than two

55
00:02:44,700 --> 00:02:42,880
one but naturally since it's it's built

56
00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:44,710
to have very good traction it basically

57
00:02:49,020 --> 00:02:46,450
is digging into the ground and digging

58
00:02:51,510 --> 00:02:49,030
this trench behind us and as we did this

59
00:02:53,460 --> 00:02:51,520
trench we're able to see things that are

60
00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:53,470
normally invisible things that are under

61
00:02:57,630 --> 00:02:55,450
the surface one thing that we seem to be

62
00:03:00,600 --> 00:02:57,640
finding almost anywhere we're digging

63
00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:00,610
this trench are these widespread

64
00:03:05,070 --> 00:03:03,130
deposits of various kinds of salts and

65
00:03:07,890 --> 00:03:05,080
minerals they look this brilliant white

66
00:03:09,810 --> 00:03:07,900
or yellow and the color images and

67
00:03:13,530 --> 00:03:09,820
that's because they're either sulphur or

68
00:03:14,850 --> 00:03:13,540
silica or salts of various kinds and the

69
00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:14,860
really important thing about these

70
00:03:21,030 --> 00:03:17,770
minerals and salts in particular is that

71
00:03:22,890 --> 00:03:21,040
the only way they form is with water so

72
00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:22,900
the fact that we're finding these salt

73
00:03:29,130 --> 00:03:25,330
is real evidence that there was hot

74
00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:29,140
water over a very widespread area where

75
00:03:33,420 --> 00:03:31,210
Spirit is exploring right now not just a

76
00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:33,430
little isolated pockets Mars really

77
00:03:37,380 --> 00:03:34,810
could have been a place at supported

78
00:03:40,110 --> 00:03:37,390
life and without these Rovers driving

79
00:03:42,210 --> 00:03:40,120
over these vast distances far beyond

80
00:03:44,940 --> 00:03:42,220
their expectations we would never have

81
00:03:46,650 --> 00:03:44,950
known that even on Mars life can give

82
00:03:49,530 --> 00:03:46,660
you lemons but you make lemonade out of

83
00:03:51,449 --> 00:03:49,540
that in spirits case you know she turned

84
00:03:54,750 --> 00:03:51,459
dragging that right front wheel into a

85
00:03:56,970 --> 00:03:54,760
great scientific discovery winter is a

86
00:03:59,430 --> 00:03:56,980
harsher time for spirit she's up on the

87
00:04:01,080 --> 00:03:59,440
top of home plate and we were scooting

88
00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:01,090
across the top of home plate as fast as

89
00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:02,530
we could toward the north face so we

90
00:04:06,270 --> 00:04:03,970
could tilt our solar panels as directly

91
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:06,280
as possible toward the Sun and as we

92
00:04:11,580 --> 00:04:07,570
were doing that she went over a little

93
00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:11,590
rise and down into a pit which we now

94
00:04:17,159 --> 00:04:14,050
call Tartarus in this case not only was

95
00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:17,169
she figuratively on the edge she was

96
00:04:20,789 --> 00:04:18,730
also literally on the edge because the

97
00:04:22,530 --> 00:04:20,799
only way to escape from that pit was to

98
00:04:23,970 --> 00:04:22,540
drive right up along the edge of home

99
00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:23,980
plate with absolutely no margin for

100
00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:26,290
error whatsoever and kind of drive up

101
00:04:30,990 --> 00:04:29,290
and around this feature and then off to

102
00:04:33,540 --> 00:04:31,000
where she was trying to get to and where

103
00:04:35,379 --> 00:04:33,550
she could be safe for the winter

104
00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:35,389
certainly the the biggest thing that

105
00:04:40,950 --> 00:04:37,810
stands out and spirits whole mission is

106
00:04:43,270 --> 00:04:40,960
her view from the top of husband Hill

107
00:04:45,219 --> 00:04:43,280
this little rover that wasn't ever

108
00:04:47,710 --> 00:04:45,229
really designed to climb over anything

109
00:04:49,750 --> 00:04:47,720
bigger than her own wheels had now

110
00:04:52,180 --> 00:04:49,760
climbed a hill the height of the Statue

111
00:04:54,430 --> 00:04:52,190
of Liberty and was standing there at the

112
00:04:56,890 --> 00:04:54,440
top of that hill and took this beautiful

113
00:04:59,409 --> 00:04:56,900
360 degree panorama and just saw the

114
00:05:03,219 --> 00:04:59,419
most beautiful striking hilly landscape

115
00:05:06,219 --> 00:05:03,229
with this spectacular orange sky and the

116
00:05:09,159 --> 00:05:06,229
beautiful rust colored ground and it

117
00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:09,169
just sort of put the whole project in

118
00:05:12,879 --> 00:05:10,970
perspective for me this was what we were

119
00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:12,889
there for to explore and go out and see

120
00:05:18,670 --> 00:05:15,530
new places that have never been seen by

121
00:05:20,860 --> 00:05:18,680
human eyes Mars is pretty harsh place

122
00:05:23,980 --> 00:05:20,870
we've had dust storms before we have

123
00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:23,990
really low power situations in winter

124
00:05:30,909 --> 00:05:27,710
we've had other small glitches that have

125
00:05:32,860 --> 00:05:30,919
caused us some tense moments but spirit

126
00:05:36,370 --> 00:05:32,870
seems to always find a way of turning

127
00:05:40,540 --> 00:05:36,380
some kind of adversity into something

128
00:05:42,580 --> 00:05:40,550
positive it was only by outlasting her

129
00:05:44,950 --> 00:05:42,590
design specifications and never giving

130
00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:44,960
up and absolutely never you know letting

131
00:05:54,660 --> 00:05:47,560
Mars get her down that she ended up