NASA's InSight Lander Finally Closed Age On Mars

Mars InSight lander (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA - After more than four years of exploring Mars, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) is rumored to have ended its mission.

The InSight lander reportedly died on Wednesday, December 21, after NASA failed to make contact with the lander in two consecutive attempts. Now, NASA has set the solar-powered InSight battery to run out of energy due to the deadly dust on Mars.

The tiny robot gradually lost its power due to a pile of dust in the solar panels. Before InSight ended its mission, he sent the last image emitted back to Earth, showing robotic science instruments covered in dust.

InSight landers have not been in contact with Earth since December 15. Then NASA took advantage of the spacecraft flying over Mars to monitor the landing robot.

However, after going through InSight twice, he never got any news. NASA then ended it by assuming the InSight mission was over.

Rest easy, little lander ❤ @NASAInSight's mission has ended after more than four years of detecting marsquakes, meteoroid impacts, and unique science on Mars. Congratulations - and thank you - to the team that made these pioneering discoveries possible. https://t.co/MCRzWYFSMd pic.twitter.com/GJkVI88CWi

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) December 21, 2022

"I witnessed the launch and landing of this mission, and when saying goodbye to the spacecraft is always sad, the amazing science that InSight does is worth celebrating," said NASA's Science Mission Directorate associate Thomas Zurbuchen.

"The seismic data only from the mission of this Discovery Program offers extraordinary insights not only to Mars but also other rocky objects, including Earth," he added.

During his time on the surface of Mars, InSight revealed details about the interior layers of Mars, its liquid core, the remnants of variables under its predominantly extinct magnetic field, and the weather on Mars.

Amazingly, InSight also achieved its first detection of seismic activity on other planets and even recorded an earthquake caused by a meteor strike.