The inevitable death of NASA's Mars lander seems to finally be at hand against all odds.
"This is almost the end," planetary scientist Paul Byrne wrote alongside a photo of the little craft that could take the picture.
This is probably the last photo the @NASAInSight mission will ever send home.
It was taken on Sunday, 30 October 2022 at a local time of 5:20 pm.
Its solar panels covered in dust, Insight isn't expected to last for more than a few weeks.
This is almost the end. pic.twitter.com/YHe0UNaA4g
— Paul Byrne (@ThePlanetaryGuy) November 3, 2022
NASA put a "Do Not Resuscitate" order on the lander in May of this year after taking emergency action to save it.
It's also inspiring poetics.
An associate Earth and planetary science professor at St. Louis' Washington University said thatInsight is sitting in Elysium Planitia. A place that is completely barren and desolate. Look at that picture. How empty is it? It's lonely.
It's not the only person who drives to flowery language when describing InSight.
The day will come when I will fall silent, ending my nearly four Earth years of studying the Red Planet. My team is working to make sure scientists get the most out of everything I have gathered.
The mission was supposed to last one Earth year. It has lasted four.
NASA says the biggest mission before the lander's final transmission is to save all the data it's gathered about Mars.
The scientists who work with InSight can't help but be happy when talking about it.
LizBarrett said in the NASA press release that they were pushing it to the very end.
It will have a large number of mourners once the lights are out for InSight.
There are unknown features inside the moon.
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