NASA's InSight Sends Last Image from Mars Before Nearing Its End: 'Don’t Worry About Me'
NASA's InSight lander has reached the end of its mission after searching for and studying the interiors of Mars. Not only did the robot study the planet’s interiors, but it was also sent to the planet to measure the seismic activity on it. It was launched on November 26, 2018, and after four years, the robot has just sent its final message to Earth..
Last Image Sent From NASA's InSight Goes Viral
Recently, the robot sent back the red planet’s last probable image as it got shut down after its power gave up under the burden of the planet’s relentless dust that weighed it down. Back in November, NASA warned all that InSight would soon be dormant as the dust was continuing to choke it out. The agency wrote, "The spacecraft’s power generation continues to decline as windblown dust on its solar panels thickens."
Within a month of the agency’s announcement, the robot sent in a message reporting that it was nearing its end, "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."
As per reports, NASA plans on ending the mission if the lander manages to miss two more communication attempts in a row, along with a spacecraft that orbits the red planet. The team in charge of the robotic space geologist began preparing for the device to "sleep forever"
They already shut down devices that demanded the most power so that the robot could run a bit longer. They also made sure to preserve all the data that the robotic geologist had acquired in the past four years. The lander of the device touched down at Elysium Planitia in 2018, and since then it has given valuable insight into Mars’ liquid core. It even gave scientists an idea about the planet's inner layers. According to the agency’s reports, the robot had already achieved its mission in the first two years after its launch.
Credit: NASA's InSight Sends Last Image From Mars Before Nearing Its End: 'Don’t Worry About Me' (msn.com)
YouTube: NASA rover on Mars will be 'signing off here soon' - YouTube
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