Tech: The Spirit is willing, but time it running short

[dracodraconis]

The Mars rover Spirit is making a mad dash toward a sunny slope before taking a break for the Martian winter. The solar cells are so dust covered that they now operate at only 42 percent capacity, and could fall as low as 30 percent by the time it reaches it's resting spot. Scientists are crossing their fingers that they can get another year of service out of the plucky robot.

Comments

[dracodraconis.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly, some of the designs for the "next generation" Rover build on this technology with just some technological improvements, like the ability to test for the presence of chemical signatures that might indicate life.