The two rovers have already experienced several parts failures. Spirit's right front wheel seized up in March 2006, due to a broken motor. Since then, the rover team has been driving Spirit in reverse and dragging the dead wheel in order to compensate for the problem.
Opportunity's right front wheel is also injured. It can still spin, but since April '05, it has no longer been able to turn in different directions to help the rover make turns. Opportunity can still drive reasonably well, however, since the other front wheel and the two back wheels can still swivel.
An "arthritic" instrument arm has also caused problems for Opportunity, a problem that cropped up in November 2005. The motor at the arm's shoulder joint has degraded and is not producing as much torque as it was designed to.
Both rovers are experiencing problems with "encoders" on their rock grinding tools, which tell the rover computers whether the grind head is moving or not. The grinding tools help the rovers study the interior of rocks by cutting away the surface.
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