A Canadian uses three times the energy of a Chinese (Aussies and US Americans use twice as much). Rising living standards create higher energy needs. Fueling prosperity isn't easy. How much of our future energy needs can be filled by renewables? Source: buff.ly/2XouSho
In case you were wondering, for Santa, in a single 24-hr Earth-night, to deliver presents to all those who celebrate Christmas, he must visit 25,000 homes per second.
Here's to you, Oppy. 🥂
Before you say #GoodNightOppy, learn more about our Opportunity @NASAMars rover, and how a planned 90-day mission turned into a 15-year journey of exploration and discovery: mars.nasa.gov/mer
ALT This self-portrait of NASA's Opportunity Mars rover shows the vehicle at a site called "Perseverance Valley" on the slopes of Endeavour Crater. It was taken with the rover's Microscopic Imager to celebrate the 5000th Martian Day, or sol, of the rover's mission.
The Microscopic Imager is a fixed-focus camera mounted at the end of the rover's robotic arm. Because it was designed for close inspection of rocks, soils and other targets at a distance of around 2.7 inches (7 cm), the black and white image of the rover is out of focus.
The rover's self-portrait view is made by stitching together multiple images take on Sol 5,000 and 5,006 of the mission. Wrist motions and turret rotations on the arm allowed the Microscopic Imager to acquire the mosaic's component images. The resulting mosaic does not include the rover's arm.
I’ve got over a dozen rock cores on board, with many more samples to come. Meanwhile, @NASA and @ESA are preparing the extraction team. Check out the bold plan that would bring these samples safely back to Earth in the early 2030s.
mars.nasa.gov/msr
My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me.
ALT Wide-angle photo from NASA’s InSight lander on Mars shows the area in front of the lander in the late afternoon sun. Two science instruments tethered to the lander rest on the sandy surface nearby. Part of the lander’s robotic arm is visible extending down from the top left. Distortion from the wide-angle lens bends the distant horizon into a curved shape, while low-angle sunlight causes a small bluish lens flare on the right side.
Time may be short for me, but I’ll keep sending back science for as long as I can. Meanwhile, I’m not the only bot on Mars. Keep exploring the Red Planet by following the adventures of:
@NASAPersevere@MarsCuriosity@NASAMars
And learn about the next team of explorers:
Coinbase CEO slams Sam Bankman-Fried: 'This guy just committed a $10 billion fraud, and why is he getting treated with kid gloves?' businessinsider.com/coinbase…
Vote for @ReverendWarnock.
Vote today to build on the work of people like John Lewis and Ann Nixon Cooper who paved the way for us.
Vote to build a better future for the next generation. IWillVote.com/GA
Senator Raphael Warnock won re-election in Georgia on Tuesday. He beat Herschel Walker in the runoff to give Democrats a 51-49 Senate advantage, capping a grueling and costly campaign. nyti.ms/3FxN4MP
ALT Senator Raphael Warnock smiles and waves to a crowd from a stage on Tuesday night in Atlanta after winning Georgia’s Senate runoff election.