Space oddity: NASA's so-called 'dead' Mars robot is still providing data. Kind of.
NASA's InSight lander may be relaxing in retirement on Mars, but the robot continues to provide the space agency with valuable information.
The lander on Nov. 26, 2018 began its Mars mission: gather data about the planet's structure, its seismic activity and frequency of meteorites. Then, the robot ran out of power in December 2022 sending a final image. It was declared "dead" in news reports including from The New York Times and The Independent.
Recently, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter checked on its retired colleague and sent back an image of the InSight lander on the planet's surface. Even though, the lander cannot send images, its mere existence on the red planet continues to provide insights (no pun intended).
"By studying InSight's landing site over time, scientists can see how quickly dust accumulates, which helps estimate the age of other surface disturbances," NASA said in a May 6 post on its NASA Mars account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
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What happened to NASA's Insight lander?
After launching in May 2018, InSight – short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport – traveled about 300 million miles over 6½ months to Mars from Earth.
The lander had a robotic arm (with a built-in camera) which it used to deploy a heat probe and seismometer to gather data.
It captured meteorite strikes and more than 1,300 marsquakes during its mission, according to California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
As its mission progressed, dust accumulated on its solar panels. Still, the robot outlasted its original mission by two Earth years, Space.com reported.
Just before the robot ran out of power, NASA posted a goodbye note from InSight on social media: "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."
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a workhorse, too, having lasted more than twice its expected lifespan since launching in 2005 and is expected to last for several more years.
As its name suggests, it orbits Mars and takes high-resolution images including those of a canyon on Mars that would reach from New York City to San Francisco if placed in the United States.
The Orbiter's snapshots of the InSight robot on Mars help ensure its colleague's contributions continue.
"InSight has more than lived up to its name," said JPL director Laurie Leshin at the time of its retirement. "Yes, it’s sad to say goodbye, but InSight’s legacy will live on, informing and inspiring.”
And that's apparently still true today.
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund and Eric Lagatta.
Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.
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