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.
My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me. pic.twitter.com/wkYKww15kQ
— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) December 19, 2022
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.
Update on @NASAInSight: On Dec. 18, the Mars lander did not respond to communications from Earth. Power has been declining for months, as expected, and this may mean the end of operations for the spacecraft. The team will try again to contact InSight. https://t.co/PsDaWokb9Z pic.twitter.com/ZVACs9EgmB
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) December 20, 2022
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.
Picture: SpaceNews
Source: Comic Book, @NASAInSight, @NASAJPL
