[QUOTE=xilman;504683]Nah, it can't be. It came back down and killed the pre-human. Remember Gilliam's Monty Python cartoon?[/QUOTE]No. And it couldn't have. It nearly hit a space ship in modern times. Don't you remember the [b]MAD[/b] Magazine movie satire?

[u]Update:[/u] New images are now all over the Internet. It's a "contact binary." Sort of like an unfinished snowman.

Beautiful pictures from [URL="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46836047"]the dark side of the moon[/URL].[SUP]*[/SUP]

* There's no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark. The albedo is around 0.12, comparable with that of worn asphalt.

[QUOTE]The rover and lander are carrying instruments to analyse the region's [U][B]geology[/B][/U].[/QUOTE]Shouldn't this be "selenology"? :razz:

[QUOTE=kladner;505775]Shouldn't this be "selenology"? :razz:[/QUOTE]Yup

[url=https://wolfstreet.com/2019/01/11/oops-after-funding-fiasco-in-november-spacex-to-lay-off-10-of-its-employees/]Oops, SpaceX to Lay Off 10% of its Employees after Funding Fiasco in November[/url] | Wolf Street

[QUOTE=xilman;505711]* There's no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact, it's all dark [/QUOTE]
"...the only thing that makes it[I] look[/I] light is the Sun."
[YOUTUBE]fGS9auPPDsg[/YOUTUBE]

[SPOILER]Another fun fact is that one of the roadies (who also provided voice bits) was Naomi Watts' father [/SPOILER]

NASA is saying goodbye to Opportunity...
 

For extreme geeks, this might be of interest.

Sadly, NASA has tried its best, but the Opportunity Rover has been declared dead. [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg"]NASA TV[/URL].

May it rest in peace, after doing much more than expected....

[QUOTE=chalsall;508449]For extreme geeks, this might be of interest.

Sadly, NASA has tried its best, but the Opportunity Rover has been declared dead. [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21X5lGlDOfg"]NASA TV[/URL].

May it rest in peace, after doing much more than expected....[/QUOTE]Yeah. Farewell Opportunity. Thanks for your efforts.

[url]https://xkcd.com/2111/[/url]

[QUOTE=retina;508450]Yeah. Farewell Opportunity. Thanks for your efforts.[/QUOTE]

Indeed. The live stream is really quite emotional.

There was a very touching bit delivered by Jennifer talking about a serious software issue.

[URL="https://www.rapitasystems.com/blog/what-really-happened-to-the-software-on-the-mars-pathfinder-spacecraft"]Priority Inversion[/URL], for those interested....

The life of the Opportunity probe had been estimated at 90 days. Due to the aforementioned computer problem, it very nearly didn't make it that long.

It wound up lasting, and being productive, 60 [i]times[/i] as long as its estimated lifetime.

Well done, and farewell.

[QUOTE=Dr Sardonicus;508510]Well done, and farewell.[/QUOTE]

I actually cried during that broadcast.

I'm pathetic. I'm OK with that.