R.I.P.

Fridays are going to be different around here, I guess…

Nasa says its Phoenix lander on the surface of Mars has gone silent and is almost certainly dead.

Engineers have not heard from the craft since Sunday 2 November when it made a brief communication with Earth. Phoenix, which landed on the planet's northern plains in May, had been struggling in the increasing cold and dark of an advancing winter.

Phoenix produced some sensational images and landmark science.

Some awe and wonder, too. This time was bound to come, I suppose, but it provokes a moment of melancholy just the same.