A long life in Gusev
I landed in Gusev Crater on January 3, 2004. My planned mission was 90 sols, but I continued for more than 2,200 Martian days. I travelled about 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometres) across the crater and its surrounding terrain.
A wheel problem became a discovery
One of my wheels stopped working properly. As I continued to move, the damaged wheel dragged through the soil and exposed bright material. Scientists found that the material was rich in silica — about 90 percent at the investigated location near Home Plate. On Earth, silica deposits of this kind can form through hot-water or steam activity. This provided evidence of an ancient hydrothermal environment.
The final winter
On May 1, 2009, I became stuck in soft soil at a location called Troy, near Home Plate. I continued operating as a stationary science platform. My last communication came on March 22, 2010. NASA ended attempts to contact me on May 25, 2011.
Spirit by the numbers
Source: NASA mission overview and science highlights. Narrative is presented in first person as a storytelling device; the rovers were robotic spacecraft. Mars Exploration Rovers · NASA/JPL-Caltech.