Rover, is that you? Mars orbiter captures traces of Nasa's retired Martian explorer, gathering (red) dust on the planet surface

Rover, is that you? Mars orbiter captures traces of Nasa's retired Martian explorer, gathering (red) dust on the planet surface - A camera on board Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of the lander from one of Nasa's retired Martian explorers, peaceful on the surface of the Red Planet.

It's the orbiter's first colour image of the lander, which helped carry Mars Rover Spirit to the surface. It now has a red colour - probably due to a coating of Martian dust.

The red dot is the lander from Mars Rover Spirit, now with a reddish colour from a coating of Martian dust. The rover drove off the lander platform in 2004 and spent six years exploring and sending data from nearby craters and hills

Spirit stopped sending signals in 2010. The image was captured on January 29.

Spirit drove off the platform in 2004 for a six-year mission exploring nearby hills and craters.

The view covers an area about 2,000 feet wide, dominated by Bonneveille Crater.

On the northern edge of Bonneville Crater, there is a bright spot - a remnant of Spirit's heat shield.

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured the view.

The camera is the largest ever sent into deep space, and has recorded tens of thousands of images.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been examining Mars with six science instruments since 2006.

This mission has returned more data about Mars than all other orbital and surface missions combined. ( dailymail.co.uk )