The dusty red line for NASA’s InSight lander, which has gone silent after four years on Mars, may have come to an end. The lander’s power levels have been declining for months as Martian dust increasingly coats its charging solar arrays. Ground controllers in California knew the end was near, but NASA reported that InSight suddenly stopped responding to messages from Earth last Sunday.
“InSight may have completed its work,” NASA acknowledged on Monday evening, adding that the last contact with the lander was on Thursday. “It is not known what caused the change in his energy.” Just in case, the team will continue to try to contact InSight.
Priceless discoveries on Mars
IInSight landed on Mars in 2018 and became the first spacecraft to document an earthquake. With his French-made seismometer, he detected more than 1,300 marsquakes, including several caused by meteorite impacts. The most recent quake, detected by InSight earlier this year, caused the earth to shake for at least six hours, according to NASA. Seismometer readings shed light on the interior of Mars.
Just last week, scientists reported that InSight had achieved another success by capturing the Martian dust swirl not only in images but also in sound. Luckily, a swirling column of dust blew directly onto the lander in 2021 when its microphone was turned on.
mission full of problems
However, the lander’s other main instrument found nothing but trouble. A German excavation device designed to measure the temperature of the interior of Mars has never sunk deeper than half a meter, well below the predicted 5 meters. NASA declared him dead almost two years ago.
Last selfie from Mars
InSight recently posted the latest selfieposted by NASA via Twitter on Monday. “My power is very low, so this may be the last image I can send,” the team wrote on behalf of InSight. “But don’t worry about me – my time here has been productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will, but I’ll be out of here soon. Thank you for staying with me.” NASA still has two active rovers on Mars: Curiosity, which has been cruising the surface since 2012, and Perseverance, which arrived early last year.
(ap, NASA)
Source: La Opinion
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.