NAfter more than four years on Mars, the US space agency Nasa decommissioned the “Insight” lander. A team from the control center in California was unable to contact “Insight” in two consecutive attempts, the US space agency said. This suggested that the module’s solar-powered batteries might no longer provide enough power, it said.
The reason for this is the dust from the Red Planet, which is becoming thicker and thicker on the solar modules. Nasa had already announced on Tuesday that the lander would probably have its last image from the Mars have transmitted. Previously, it was said in November that “Insight” would only have energy for a few weeks.
The stationary lander arrived on Mars in November 2018 to measure seismic activity. He achieved his scientific goals following just over two years, leaving him on an “extended mission”. According to NASA, “Insight” has registered more than 1,300 marsquakes, which give scientists information regarding the inner structure of the planet. The main task now is to secure the amount of data and make it accessible to researchers all over the world.
First purely geophysical Mars mission
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) was involved in the landing mission with measuring instruments and a science team. According to DLR, “Insight” was the first purely geophysical Mars mission. The last radio contact with the earth took place on December 15th.
The so-called Mars mole developed in Germany was particularly well known during the mission. The self-hammering device, which was developed for loose, sandy Martian soil, had long struggled with the unexpectedly hard soil at its site. “The instrument was finally able to bury its 40-centimeter probe just below the surface and collect valuable data on the mechanical and thermal properties of the Martian soil,” writes the DLR. A depth of five meters was originally planned.