After four years on Mars, NASA’s InSight mission has ended.
Since November 26, 2018, the InSight lander has been sitting (mostly) quietly on a vast Martian plain known as Elysium Planitia. Its mission: to give scientists the first glimpse of the interior structure of Mars.
Over nearly 4 years, InSight’s sensitive seismometer detected more than 1,300 earthquakes. Just as earthquakes allowed researchers to discover the size and basic composition of Earth’s core, mantle and crust, these Martian tremors provided a similar picture of what the Red Planet looks like beneath the surface.
However, as of December 18, 2022, NASA has lost contact with InSight.
Due to a thickening layer of dust on the lander’s solar panels, their power levels have decreased to critical levels. It was only a matter of time before he no longer had enough energy to communicate with Earth. Now, it seems that day has arrived.
NASA InSight’s final snapshot, taken by the lander’s Instrument Context Camera, on December 11, 2022. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
On December 21, NASA officially declared the end of the InSight mission.
“We’ve thought of InSight as our friend and colleague on Mars for the past four years, so it’s hard to say goodbye,” said Bruce Banerdt, InSight’s principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. in the statement. “But he has earned his well-deserved retirement.”
InSight’s primary mission, to reveal the interior structure of Mars, was a complete success.
An artist’s impression of the interior of Mars (left) is compared with data from the InSight seismometer (center), to show the boundaries of the planet’s interior structure (right). Credit: NASA/Deng & Levander, 2020/GRL/Scott Sutherland
At the same time, it improved our understanding of the Martian climate, and some of the earthquakes it detected led to the discovery of new asteroid impact craters on the surface.
Read more: New impact crater on Mars discovered ‘hidden’ cache of ice
The only part of the mission that failed to deliver as expected was “the mole” — the heat probe that attempted to strike a few meters below the surface of the mission’s landing site. It was intended to measure how heat flows from the interior of Mars to the surface. However, he found it difficult to fulfill this mission.
Two views from InSight’s instrument deployment camera on the lander arm show how the mole re-emerged from the hole it was trying to drill. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Because of the very unusual soil it encountered during the attempt, the mole only managed to drill just below the surface. Even so, it still gave back some valuable science!
According to NASA: *”Designed for the loose, sandy soil seen on other missions, the mole was unable to gain traction in the unexpectedly thick soil around InSight. The instrument, which was provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) , eventually buried its 16-inch (40-centimeter) probe just below the surface, gathering valuable data on the physical and thermal properties of the Martian soil along the way, useful for any future human or robotic missions. that tries to dig underground.”*
This artist’s impression of the mission shows InSight on the surface of Mars, with the seismometer and heat probe fully deployed. Credit: NASA
“InSight has more than lived up to its name,” Laurie Leshin, director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in Wednesday’s announcement. “As a scientist who has made a career studying Mars, it has been a thrill to see what the lander has achieved, thanks to a whole team of people around the world who helped make this mission a success.”
“Yes, it’s sad to say goodbye, but InSight’s legacy will live on, inform and inspire.”