This February 18, 2020 photo, provided by NASA, shows the dome-covered seismometer of the InSight lander, known as SEIS, on the surface of Mars. The spacecraft is losing power due to all the dust accumulated on its solar panels. NASA said on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, that it will continue to use the spacecraft’s seismometer to detect earthquakes until its power runs out. Officials expect operations to stop in July, almost four years after InSight arrived on Mars. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech via AP, file
A NASA spacecraft on Mars is heading for dusty death.
The Insight lander loses power due to all the dust on its solar panels. NASA said Tuesday it would continue to use the spacecraft’s seismometer to record earthquakes until the power goes out, possibly in July. Flight controllers will then monitor InSight until the end of this year, before canceling everything.
“There really wasn’t too much doom and gloom on the team. We’re really still focused on managing the spacecraft,” said Bruce Banerd of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, chief scientist.
Since landing on Mars in 2018, InSight has detected more than 1,300 earthquakes; the largest, with a magnitude of 5, occurred two weeks ago.
This will be NASA’s second spacecraft on Mars lost in dust: a global dust storm destroyed Opportunity in 2018. In the case of InSight, it was a gradual collection of dust, especially in the last year.
Two other NASA spacecraft operating on the Martian surface – the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers – are still strong thanks to nuclear power. The space agency could rethink solar energy in the future for Mars, said Planetary Science Director Lori Glaze, or at least experiment with new panel cleaning technology or aim for less turbulent seasons.
This December 6, 2018 image, provided by NASA, shows the InSight lander. The scene is made up of 11 photos taken with his robotic arm. The spacecraft is losing power due to all the dust accumulated on its solar panels. NASA said on Tuesday, May 17, 2022, that it will continue to use the spacecraft’s seismometer to detect earthquakes until its power runs out. Officials expect operations to stop in July, almost four years after InSight arrived on Mars. Credit: NASA via AP, file
InSight currently generates one-tenth of the sun’s energy as it arrives. Deputy Project Manager Katya Zamora Garcia said the lander initially had enough power to operate an electric oven for one hour and 40 minutes; it is now up to 10 minutes maximum.
The InSight team expected so much dust to accumulate, but hoped that a gust of wind or a dust devil could clean the solar panels. This has not yet happened, although several thousand vortices are approaching.
“None of them hit us completely, but still enough to blow the dust off the panels,” Banerd told reporters.
Another scientific instrument, called the mole, had to bury 16 feet (5 meters) underground to measure the internal temperature of Mars. But the German excavator never reached more than a few feet (half a meter) due to the unexpected composition of the red dirt, and was finally pronounced dead early last year.
NASA’s InSight is still hunting down earthquakes as power levels dwindle
© 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed without permission.
Citation: Dusty death for NASA Mars lander in July; power reduction (2022, May 18), extracted on May 18, 2022 from
This document is subject to copyright. Except for any fair transaction for the purpose of private research or study, no part may be reproduced without written permission. The content is provided for informational purposes only.
Add Comment