Added 1 new A* page:"Dusty demise for NASA Mars lander in July; power dwindling" says AP News:
"It will be NASA's second Mars lander lost to dust: A global dust storm took out Opportunity in 2018. In InSight's case, it's been a gradual gathering of dust, especially over the past year. NASA's two other functioning spacecraft on the Martian surface — rovers Curiosity and Perseverance — are still going strong thanks to nuclear power."
"The InSight team anticipated this much dust buildup, but hoped a gust wind of wind or dust devil might clean off the solar panels. That has yet to happen, despite several thousand whirlwinds coming close."
"Another science instrument, dubbed the mole, was supposed to burrow 16 feet (5 meters) underground to measure the internal temperature of Mars. But the German digger never got deeper than a couple feet (a half-meter) because of the unexpected composition of the red dirt, and it finally was declared dead at the beginning of last year."
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The original 16" x 6.75" watercolor art for today's new A* page is up for auction on eBay. : )
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