The power is out: NASA declares the Mars mission “Insight” over

After more than four years on Mars, the American space agency NASA has retired the “Insight” lander. A team from the California control center failed to contact “Insight” on two consecutive attempts, the US space agency said Wednesday evening. This suggested the module’s solar-powered batteries could no longer provide enough power, it said.

The reason for this is the dust from the Red Planet, which is getting thicker on the solar panels. NASA had already announced on Tuesday that the lander had probably sent its last image of Mars. Earlier in November, it was said that “Insight” would only have energy for a few weeks.

The stationary lander arrived on Mars in November 2018 to measure seismic activity. He achieved his scientific goals after just over two years, leaving him on an “extended mission”. According to NASA, “Insight” has recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes, which provide scientists with information about the planet’s inner structure. The most important task now is to secure the amount of data and make it accessible to researchers all over the world.

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) was also involved in the landing mission with measuring instruments and a scientific team. According to DLR, “Insight” was the first purely geophysical Mars mission. The last radio contact with Earth occurred on December 15.

The so-called Mars mole, developed in Germany, was particularly well known during the mission. Developed for loose, sandy Martian soil, the self-hammer device had long struggled with the unexpectedly hard soil at its location. “The instrument was eventually able to bury its 16-inch probe just below the surface, collecting valuable data on the mechanical and thermal properties of the Martian soil,” writes DLR. Originally, a depth of five meters was planned. (sda/dpa)