Query: It takes as much energy to make a solar panel as it likely generates in its entire life.

Relevant passages:
Solar panel <=SEP=> Solar panels absorb the sunlight as a source of energy to generate electricity or heat .   A photovoltaic ( PV ) module is a packaged , connect assembly of typically 6x10 photovoltaic solar cells . Photovoltaic modules constitute the photovoltaic array of a photovoltaic system that generates and supplies solar electricity in commercial and residential applications . Each module is rated by its DC output power under standard test conditions ( STC ) , and typically ranges from 100 to 365 Watts ( W ) . The efficiency of a module determines the area of a module given the same rated output an 8 % efficient 230 W module will have twice the area of a 16 % efficient 230 W module . There are a few commercially available solar modules that exceed efficiency of 22 % and reportedly also exceeding 24 % . A single solar module can produce only a limited amount of power ; most installations contain multiple modules . A photovoltaic system typically includes an array of photovoltaic modules , an inverter , a battery pack for storage , interconnection wiring , and optionally a solar tracking mechanism .   The most common application of solar panels is solar water heating systems .   The price of solar power has continued to fall so that in many countries it is cheaper than ordinary fossil fuel electricity from the grid ( there is `` grid parity '' ) .

Spirit (rover) <=SEP=> Spirit , also known as MER-A ( Mars Exploration Rover -- A ) or MER-2 , is a robotic rover on Mars , active from 2004 to 2010 . It was one of two rovers of NASA 's ongoing Mars Exploration Rover Mission . It landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4 , 2004 , three weeks before its twin , Opportunity ( MER-B ) , landed on the other side of the planet . Its name was chosen through a NASA-sponsored student essay competition . The rover became stuck in late 2009 , and its last communication with Earth was sent on March 22 , 2010 .   The rover completed its planned 90-sol mission . Aided by cleaning events that resulted in more energy from its solar panels , Spirit went on to function effectively over twenty times longer than NASA planners expected . Spirit also logged 7.73 km of driving instead of the planned 600 m , allowing more extensive geological analysis of Martian rocks and planetary surface features . Initial scientific results from the first phase of the mission ( the 90-sol prime mission ) were published in a special issue of the journal Science .   On May 1 , 2009 ( 5 years , 3 months , 27 Earth days after landing ; 21.6 times the planned mission duration ) , Spirit became stuck in soft soil . This was not the first of the mission 's `` embedding events '' and for the following eight months NASA carefully analyzed the situation , running Earth-based theoretical and practical simulations , and finally programming the rover to make extrication drives in an attempt to free itself . These efforts continued until January 26 , 2010 when NASA officials announced that the rover was likely irrecoverably obstructed by its location in soft soil ,  though it continued to perform scientific research from its current location .   The rover continued in a stationary science platform role until communication with Spirit stopped on sol 2210 ( March 22 , 2010 ) . JPL continued to attempt to regain contact until May 24 , 2011 , when NASA announced that efforts to communicate with the unresponsive rover had ended , calling the mission complete . A formal farewell took place at NASA headquarters after the 2011 Memorial Day holiday and was televised on NASA TV .   The Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL ) , a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena , manages the  Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA 's Office of Space Science , Washington .