XKCD’s Mars Rover Tale Will Make You Weep

Fans of sci-fi as well as sci-fact are well aware of Mars' inhospitable terrain (and various aliens). That's why many have been so forgiving of NASA's mission failures and so encouraged by its successes - especially the longer-than-expected run of "Spirit," the Mars rover that managed to scoot around the red planet's surface for six years before getting trapped in the sand.

Now serving as a stationary platform for science, Spirit faces isolation and very possibly Decepticon attacks like in that old "Transformers" teaser.

XKCD's emotional biocomic of Spirit's journey sums up the lost robot's doomed mission:

Spirit may not get the happy ending Wall-E did, but we'll never forget this brave little robot and its rock gazing, wheel-turning and eventual sand-getting-stuck-ining.

Think of Earth, Spirit.

[Via Gizmodo]