Updated June 22nd, 2022 at 15:42 IST
NASA extends Mars mission of InSight but 'death' of lander nears sooner than expected
NASA announced to extend the Mars mission timeline of InSight which would drain the lander's battery in September instead of December this year.
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The InSight Mars lander will meet its demise sooner than expected as NASA announced that it is extending the robot's mission by a few months. As a result, InSight's seismometer, which is the lander's last operational instrument will consume more power and drain the battery much earlier.
Initially, the plan was to let the seismometer shut down automatically by the end of June in order to conserve energy, leaving InSight to survive on the remaining power by December. However, NASA now intends to use the seismometer for additional Marsquake detection until the end of August or into early September, thus draining the batteries faster. "The goal is to get scientific data all the way to the point where InSight can’t operate at all, rather than conserve energy and operate the lander with no science benefit", Chuck Scott, InSight’s project manager at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in a statement.
As power wanes, the @NASAInSight team has revised the mission’s timeline to maximize the chance of recording additional quakes on Mars.
— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL)
However, this moves the projected end of operations from December 2022 to as early as August or September.
Details at https://t.co/EENpJPW3ZV
'InSight hasn’t finished teaching us about Mars': NASA scientist
Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division in Washington, said in a statement that InSight still has a lot to offer as it has not finished teaching scientists about Mars. "We’re going to get every last bit of science we can before the lander concludes operations". The reason for InSight's impending shut down is the accumulation of Martian dust on its solar panels which has significantly reduced the power supply to its batteries.
With mission goals met, my retirement is on the horizon. But as my power declines, my focus increases: I’ll keep my seismometer going, recording marsquakes for as long as I have energy. Every bit of science counts.
— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight)
Read more: https://t.co/37mcHsglWC pic.twitter.com/hwvFDySnlP
Short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, InSight was already on an extended mission. Ever since its touchdown on Mars in 2018, it has detected over 1,300 Marsquakes and has provided crucial information about the crust, mantle and core of the red planet. In addition to Mars' interior, it has collected the planet's weather data, investigated the soil beneath itself, and studied remnants of Mars’ ancient magnetic field.
In the latest attempt to power the lander for as long as possible, the mission team at the JPL powered off InSight’s fault protection system. This system is responsible for automatically triggering "safe mode" wherein all but important functions of the lander are shut down during threatening situations such as a huge dust storm.
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Published June 22nd, 2022 at 15:42 IST