Spirit has to be more careful about the terrain it tackles than in the past, thanks to a non-functioning right front wheel. The motor that rotates the wheel stopped working in mid-March, so the rover has been driving backwards, dragging the wheel behind it.
Spirit reached Low Ridge Haven over the weekend and as a result, the rover's power supply has been bumped up by as much as 20%, Squyres says. Science observations are just getting underway at the new site, but he says there are some "wonderful, finely-layered bedrock outcrops" there and it is likely the rover will remain there for the entire winter science campaign.
