NASA Delays Launch of Second Mars Rover

"Henry Spencer" wrote:
In article ,
Brian Gaff wrote:
I'm still a bit confused what the properties of cork are that make it the
ideal substance for this job?

It's light, it's a good insulator, it chars gradually and predictably, it
takes adhesives well, and not least, it's cheap. You could undoubtedly
make a synthetic substitute, but why bother?

Cheap by aerospace spending standards. I note that there
is an artificial cork replacement as a bottle stopper and
it is gaining in use because of the difficulties of
obtaining sufficient amounts of the natural stuff at
reasonable prices.