The final self-portrait that will be taken by the InSight Mars landers shows dust-caked solar panels that blend into the surrounding regolith. The InSight mission is expected to end this year, and the lander will need all of its remaining power to gather as much scientific data as possible. NASA said in a press conference last week that it will likely cease operations at the end of the year. The end of the mission is due to the amount of dust that has accumulated on the lander's solar panels. For the past three years, InSight has been on the Martian surface, taking pictures of the skies and using its seismometer to detect marsquakes. The heat probe got stuck in the soil after two years of trying to dig into the Martian surface. The largest-yet-known earthquake on another planet was detected by the landers earlier this month. The landers gave scientists the best look at the insides of Mars, as well as the geological and seismological systems on the planet. More marsquakes could be detected before the scientific operations end. Next-Level Sound can be experienced. Theater-like sound surrounds you with spatial audio with dynamic head tracking.
The end of the mission has been a foregone conclusion. Dust storms have forced the landers into safe modes before. The stop-gap measures helped get some of the dust off the panels, but they seem to have just prolonged the inevitable.
The amount of dust that has built up on the solar panels is shown in the final selfie taken on April 24. The first and second selfies were taken in December of last year and between March and April of this year.
The selfies are mosaics, meaning they are stitched together from multiple images, each of which requires the lander's camera-carrying robotic arm to be in a different position. The robotic arm will be moved into a resting position this month because selfies aren't worth the drain on the batteries.
The deputy project manager said in a press conference last week that the scientific operations could end in July, but that the Martian climate is unpredictable.
We won't see the lander again until much later in the game.
Dust Storm Sends China's Mars Rover Into Safe Mode.
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