‘My power is very low’: NASA’s Insight Mars rover prepares to leave the red planet | March

from NASA InSight Landing has delivered what could be his final message from Mars, where he has been on a historic mission to reveal the secrets of the red planet’s interior.

In November, the space agency warned that landing time could be coming to an end as dust continued to thicken and choke InSight’s power.

“The spacecraft’s power generation continues to decline as wind dust from its solar panels thickens,” NASA wrote in a update on November 2. “The end is expected to come in the coming weeks.”

A message shared at nose InSight’s Twitter account on Monday read: “My power is very low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will, but I’ll be closing here soon. Thanks for sticking with me.”

My power is very low so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though – my time here has been productive and serene. If I can continue to talk to my mission team, I will, but I’ll close here soon. Thanks for staying with me. pic.twitter.com/wkYKww15kQ

— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) December 19, 2022

The robotic geologist, armed with a hammer and an earthquake monitor, first landed on the barren expanse of Elysium Planitia in November 2018.

Since then, he has carried out geological excavations, making the first measurements of marsquakes using a high-tech seismometer placed directly on the Martian surface.

The solar-powered lander posted an update last month, recalling its time in space.

“I’ve been lucky enough to live on two planets. Four years ago, I arrived safely on the second, to the delight of my family back on the first. Thanks to my team for sending me on this journey of discovery. I hope I made you proud,” he said.

Since its deployment, Insight has measured more than 1,300 seismic events, and more than 50 of them had signals clear enough for the team to get information about its location on Mars, according to the mission release. results.

Data from the lander has also provided details about Mars’ inner layers, its liquid core, the strikingly variable remnants below the surface of its largely extinct magnetic field, climate and earthquake activity.

Before its 2018 releaseNASA’s chief scientist Jim Green said the mission was of “fundamental importance to understanding the origin of our solar system and how it became what it is today.”

NASA won’t declare the mission over until InSight misses two visits with the Mars-orbiting spacecraft that relays its information to Earth.

In 2018, the veteran Mars rover Opportunity declared the end of his 15-year mission by transmitting an incomplete image from the valley of perseverance.

An intense dust storm darkened the sky around the solar-powered rover, blotting out the Sun and leaving behind a dark image with white specks of camera noise. The stream stopped before the full image could be sent.