The last tweet of the Martian robot

Since we like fairy tales and it’s almost Christmas, I’ll tell you one that is really happening these days. There’s a robot on Mars that’s shutting down. His name is Insights and after four years of honorable service on Monday he sent what probably was his latest tweet. A photo of a detail of the planet and a poignant text: “I’m almost out of energy, this may be the last picture I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been productive and serene. If I can still communicate with my team on the ground I will but soon I will disconnect forever, thanks for being with me”. Many were moved and went to re-read the other tweets from the Martian rover. On December 16: “Thank you for all the postcards you sent me with your good wishes”. On November 26: “I was lucky to live on two planets, thanks to whoever sent me to do this exploration, I hope you are proud of what I have done”. Finally an omen, on November 23rd: “Time may be running out soon for me but I will continue to send scientific data as long as I can”. What had happened? That the dust was definitely covering the solar panels that powered the robot which thus shut down. Like when the remote control batteries run out, or when we unplug the TV. Someone poetically wrote that “the NASA robot he breathed his last”. But it is a misleading metaphor. Robots don’t breathe. Those tweets were written by a NASA social media manager who decided to make us fall in love with a scientific enterprise. All very nice and well done. But let’s not confuse technology with human beings. Robots don’t suffer, they don’t rejoice and we can theoretically fall in love with a robot, but robots don’t love and they don’t hate. Unless you’re watching a Disney movie.