Posted by tourdemars to Mars Exploration Rovers at November 23, 2009 01:03 PM

NASA's stuck Mars rover Spirit took a tiny step Thursday, its first progress in months, during the latest attempt to extricate the robot from deep Martian sand. On Thursday, Spirit inched forward slightly after its second attempt to drive out of the patch of sandy soil called Troy, in which it has been mired since April. The rover successfully completed the first of two commands to spin its wheels for a period equivalent to driving 8.2 feet (2.5 meters). The attempt moved Spirit's center forward by about half an inch (1.2 cm), left by about 0.3 inches (7 mm), and about 0.2 inches (4 mm) down.