Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is brought to us by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and shows the MER Opportunity. Opportunity was caught in the recent globe-girdling dust storms which cut the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of Mars effectively to zero. As a result, the rover was put in sleep mode in the hopes that its solar panels would be brushed clean by the wind (as has happened in the past), allowing the rover to recover as power was again generated. Mission controllers are both signaling to and listening for the rover in the hopes that this "90 day mission" can continue even longer.
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