“The rovers were solar-powered, and NASA never expected them to live through a Martian winter. They survived by parking on a tilt during winter months to direct more sunlight onto their solar panels. And surprisingly powerful Martian winds reliably cleared the panels of dust.” NASA’s Opportunity Mars Rover has been pronounced dead. It survived for 14 years before finally being done in by a massive Martian dust storm. When it landed, NASA expected it to survive about 3 months.

+ Gizmodo: The Mars Opportunity rover has officially ghosted Earth.