NASA’s Mars Lander Refuses to Die Even Though It’s Supposed To

NASA’s InSight Mars lander has been expected to die for more than a year now, but a series of strokes of good luck have helped the spacecraft stay alive. Mars is currently in the middle of a dust storm season that would usually knock out a lander, as dust collects on its solar arrays and forces it to go without power. But this year’s Mars weather has been unusually calm and has allowed the spacecraft to live a little longer. The mission is now in the robotic version of palliative care, with its operators reprogramming it to die peacefully instead of going into safe mode. The spacecraft’s power production has decreased incrementally and is now at a mere one-tenth of its original capacity. It’s miraculous . . .