"Mars scientists and engineers are elated about a dust-busting blast that has struck the Spirit rover at its Gusev crater exploration site.

Turns out that a martian whirlwind – dubbed a dust devil – likely zoomed over the robot high up in the Columbia Hills. That fleeting flyby effectively cleaned Spirit’s solar arrays, giving the robot a new lease on life.

Engineers report that the rover’s power reading quickly shot up to almost as high as when the rover landed on Mars over a year ago."

[ Damn, dude, that thing is the freaking energizer bunny with a 4 leaf clover or some shit. Really stunningly successful. Go NASA. -k]

Spirit Gets A Dust Devil Once-Over