NASA’s Mars Lander Sends Emotional Message To End Operations

It has long been known that NASA’s InSight Lander will be ending its operations on Mars anytime now. After four years of service, the lander has finally called it a day. The lander also has an emotional message for space enthusiasts.

The lander’s ability to maintain power has taken a hit due to the gradual build-up of dust on the lander’s two solar panels. InSight’s official Twitter account also posted what is likely the lander’s last image from the Red Planet before it finally shuts forever.

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. pic.twitter.com/wkYKww15kQ

— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) December 19, 2022

InSight Sneds An Emotional Message

“My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send,” InSight’s tweet read. “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.”

In November, the lander’s team tweeted: “I’ve been lucky enough to live on two planets. Four years ago, I arrived safely at the second one, to the delight of my family, back on the first. Thanks to my team for sending me on this journey of discovery. Hope I’ve done you proud.”

NASA said the lander would shut off the mission when it misses two consecutive communication sessions with the spacecraft orbiting Mars. Post that, NASA said its Deep Space Network would keep listening, just to make sure.

InSight Over The Years

InSight lander was launched on May 5, 2018, and it reached the Red Planet six months later on November 26. Unlike fellow Mars rovers such as Curiosity and Perseverance, InSight doesn’t have wheels. It has stayed in the same spot at Elysium Planitia for four years..

The space agency said that unlike missions still being carried out by the rovers, InSight’s science activities were “more like a marathon than a sprint.” NASA added that in the last four years, “the lander data has yielded details about Mars’ interior layers, its liquid core, the surprisingly variable remnants beneath the surface of its mostly extinct magnetic field, weather on this part of Mars, and lots of quake activity.”

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