Communication lost with Mars Rover Opportunity

https://medium.com/s/space-time/its-...r-421540f742f1

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The Opportunity Rover’s mission was planned to last only 90 days. But the rover survived long past its expected expiration. Fourteen years later, it was still sending NASA data from the red planet. But in June 2018, the most severe Martian dust storm in recorded history covered Opportunity in darkness and prevented sunlight from reaching the solar-powered rover. As a result, Opportunity could no longer communicate with Earth. June 10, 2018, was the last day we heard from the rover. Its last photos were of the sun completely blacked out. It’s expected that NASA will soon announce the end of the mission.

This twitter thread gives more details. The saddest bit is this:

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The last message they received was basically, “My battery is low and it’s getting dark.”

Reading about it reminded me of this sad comic:



And that someone gave it a happier, although still somewhat melancholy, ending:



Goodbye Opportunity.

F

via International Skeptics Forum http://bit.ly/2TUeLVG