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TIL the parachutes of mars rovers are being sterilized to prevent life from earth “hitchhikes” to mars, making it impossible to distinguish from possible microbes on mars.

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via reddit.com

X0Vkr TIL that, among many other things, Air Force General Curtis LeMay is credited as being one of the two people that are responsible for Judo surviving World War II. Martial Arts training was banned for the populace during the Occupation of Japan, but LeMay instituted it into USAF training regimen.
v7bR TIL that the Tata Group from India which owns Jaguar-Land Rover and has revenues of over $100b is 66% controlled by charitable trusts, which invest these proceeds in nation-building such as India’s hospitals, educational institutions and promoting health, education, culture etc.
5dRR TIL a window washer in New York survived a 47-floor fall by hanging onto the aluminum platform, which rode the air like a surfboard creating wind resistance that slowed his descent. He now walks 1-2 miles every day and has finished a 5k charity event.
16n07 TIL that a school principal once made a student who'd gotten into trouble sit in the basement & read the U.S. Constitution as punishment. That student (who committed the Constitution to memory as a result) was Thurgood Marshall, who went on to become the first Black Supreme Court justice.
kOoBe TIL the International Space Station (ISS) can orbit "straight through" an aurora event. When it happened on 23 February 2016 Timothy Peake, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut aboard the ISS, said it was "eerie but very beautiful."