NASA launched InSight in May 2018. The lander was designed to study the deep interior of the fourth planet from the Sun—Mars. Landed on the red planet in November 2018, it has been active since. The lander studied the planet’s seismic activity, as well as returning 3-dimensional models of Mars’ interior.
However, on Twitter, @NASAInSight updated us about the lander’s poor condition on Mars.
InSight lander was expected to last for only two years. It is now 2022. Thus, it means that the lander doubled its life expectancy on Mars.
A new update from @NASAJPL revealed that on the 18th of December, the lander did not respond to communications from Earth. The tweet also stressed that the lander’s power has been declining for months. Therefore, the lander’s power might be shutting off. It is the end of the lander’s operations for the spacecraft. Nevertheless, the team is still trying to contact the lander.
Although NASA’s Insight lander is no more, NASA is still operating two rovers — Curiosity and Perseverance. Curiosity still has a life span of 5 years using its nuclear energy, and it has been operating for 10 years. Meanwhile, Perseverance only landed on Mars last year, and it has a life span of a decade.
Source: Comic Book, @NASAInSight, @NASAJPL