The NASA lander that's been on Mars for more than a year is coming to an end.
Project officials warned in May that the landers would likely become inoperative by the end of the year because of the dust on its solar panels. The end was announced by NASA by early November.
The lander has provided regular updates on its status on the social networking site in a way that some might call mournful acceptance.
Sharing new discoveries, pledges to keep operating as long as possible, news of its coming retirement, and thanks to the well-wishers who sent it postcards from around the world are some of the things it has done.
It posted a picture of the planet's rocky surface and horizon line on Monday.
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
The lander said that this may be the last image he can send. My time here has been productive and peaceful. I will sign off here soon if I can keep talking to my team. Thank you for being with me.
InSight did not respond to communications from Earth the day before. It's not known what caused the change in the mission's energy.
NASA will declare the mission over if InSight misses two communication sessions in a row, but it doesn't sound hopeful.
The agency said that the power of the landers has been declining for months, and that it's assumed that InSight may have reached its end of operations.
During its stay on Mars, InSight did a lot of things well.
It was sent there in order to study the planet's inner space.
The mission of the craft was extended until the end of 2022.
The main purpose of the instrument was to track Marsquakes. The shape and timing of the waves generated by the earthquakes sheds light on the planet's interior makeup.
"We didn't know that there were going to be Marsquakes before the InSight mission," said a planetary scientist from the university.
It went on to measure more than 1,300 earthquakes after it became the first to detect them on another planet.
NASA says its findings gave scientists new insights into the composition and structure of the planet's layers, which in turn deepens their understanding of the geologic history of Mars and its ability to support life.
The first-ever magnetometer instrument, which was carried to the surface of Mars, was one of the notable contributions.
A magnitude 4 earthquake was detected, which was caused by a meteorite strike, and a layer of water ice was discovered. NASA said that the events were an icy bonanza.
According to Bruce Banerdt, the team had accomplished all they set out to do, except for one disappointing experiment. He repeated the praise in the NASA update.
"For the first time, we can see Mars as a planet with different thicknesses and compositions," he stated. We are teasing out the details. It's not just a mystery; it's actually a planet.
Is it possible that a spaceship can meet death by dust? Back in November, InSight shared some thoughts in a thread.
It said a system for cleaning itself of dust would have made the mission more complex and costly, and it had already doubled its stay.
The team prepared for the lander's demise by packing up the full engineering model of the lander and turning off many of its systems to conserve power.
NASA will keep listening once it declares the mission over.
It said there would be no heroic measures to reestablish contact. It is unlikely that a strong gust of wind will clean the panels off.
Several other landers call Mars their final resting place.
NASA's Perseverance and Curiosity rovers can be followed for more dispatches from the Red Planet.
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