The photo you see above will likely be the last photo NASA’s Mars InSight lander will send back to Earth. The robot has been photographing and collecting data on the Martian environment since landing on the planet in November 2018. But meanwhile, dust is constantly accumulating on the surface of the solar panels. As NASA predicted earlier this year, the dust layer has finally become too thick for solar panels to work. The InSight Twitter account posted a farewell message on December 19 with a final image from the surface of Mars.
“My strength is really low, so this may be the last image I can send. I’ll be leaving soon. Thanks for staying with me,” the tweet reads.
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 landed on Mars on November 26, 2018. He set up a seismometer on the Martian surface and collected data on Martian earthquakes, which has helped NASA scientists compile a clearer picture of the planet’s interior structure. It has reported more than 500 earthquakes and at least one meteorite impact. From these reports, NASA researchers concluded that Mars’ core is about half that of Earth’s and is likely composed of lighter elements than previously thought.
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