Silence. Mission Ends.

I've been following the latest mission to Mars on Twitter. I'm not really sure why. In the midst of updates from friends on three continents (here on Earth) and the middle of this country, reports of meals eaten, tasks procrastinated, momentous and quotidian life experienced, I've read the humorous, beyond-my-ken-or-passion scientific reporting of a robot in outer space. For reals.

So when I checked in on Twitter last night, I was a little surprised and sad to see this flurry:


Though I'd known it was coming, because last week there was this:


And these:






And even earlier, the clear warning:


It's only natural, my Twitter friend Phoenix told me. Robots to Mars can't stay in communication with us forever.

So, I will sit and watch the silence on my Twitter page. Another thing over. The rest of us carry on.