Apparently, there is a giant dust storm on Mars that has forced the Mars rover Opportunity to stop communicating with NASA. The dust storm is making it so dark that Opportunity cannot charge it's battery. NASA is optimistic that it can ride out the storm in low power and then start back up once the storm passes. It has survived dust storms in the past, but this one is particularly strong. Here is the article:
NASA's long-lived Opportunity Mars rover is weathering a monster dust storm that has plunged its environs into permanent darkness.
That darkness has prevented the solar-powered Opportunity from charging its batteries sufficiently, and the rover has fallen silent as a result. Still, mission team members expressed optimism that the plucky robot, which has been exploring the Red Planet for more than 14 years, will pull through.
"We should be able to ride out this storm," John Callas, Opportunity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said during a news conference today (June 13). "We're concerned, but we're hopeful that the storm will clear and the rover will begin to communicate to us."
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NASA's Opportunity Mars Rover Fighting for its Life
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