Those Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, just keep rovin’ along.

We science journalists have written that story time after time. The darn things just don’t die. For the third consecutive year, project scientists presented their findings at a packed AGU press briefing.

Life for the twin rovers is getting tougher. Spirit spent the entire Martian winter – April through December – hunkered down to try to save energy. Its right front wheel is jammed, and mission controllers have to drive the thing in reverse. The radioisotope-powered alpha proton x-ray spectrometer instrument has been through so many half lives now that it takes days to conduct analyses that used to take hours.

And yet, says project scientist Ray Arvidson, “it’s still exciting to come into work every day.” Then he turns to Steve Squyres, the rovers’ lead scientist, a slight glint of desperation in his eye. “Right, Steve? Right??”