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A wind blow. That’s all you need to extend the life of the lander at the last minute.
The day when NASA must say goodbye to Marslander Insight is approaching. Wind-blown dust accumulates on the solar panels, causing the lander to generate less and less power. However, the team will go all the way and keep collecting data until they really can’t take any more. The only thing that can save the lander is a gust of wind. “We are at the mercy of Mars,” said Bruce Banerdt, the mission’s principal investigator.
End
The end of the Mars lander, which has been studying the internal structure of Mars for several years, has been approaching for a while. Indeed, the dust that has settled on the solar panels thickens. As a result, the lander gradually loses power.
Selfie from Insight. Left: This is what Insight’s solar array looked like on December 6, 2018, just ten days after Insight landed on Mars. Right: This photo was taken on April 24, 2022. The solar panel is completely covered in a thick layer of dust. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Last summer, the lander had so little energy left that researchers decided to shut down all scientific instruments except the seismometer. Even the crash protection system has been disabled. “We had less than 20% of the original capacity,” explains Banerdt. “That meant we couldn’t afford to keep the instruments running.”
seismometer
Recently, Insight was once again ravaged by a passing dust storm. The seismometer was also turned off at this time to save power. Now that the storm has passed, the seismometer is once again collecting data. But only for a short time. The researchers expect the lander to only have enough power for a few more weeks. “Of the network of sensors with which the seismometer is equipped, only the most sensitive are still operational,” said Liz Barret, a member of the team. “We will go all the way.”
Complete
Although the researchers are trying to extend the mission as long as possible, they are also finishing their work in the meantime. For example, they are working to securely store the wealth of data Insight has collected over its lifetime and make it accessible to scientists around the world. Additionally, ForeSight, a fully functional life-size model of InSight, will be stored. Engineers were able to pre-test all operations performed by Insight on Mars with ForeSight. But now his job is done. “It’s a great tool,” says Banerdt. “He was a good companion throughout the mission.”
Insight’s mission
Team members can look back with pride on Insight’s mission, which exceeded all expectations. Marslander InSight set set foot on Mars in 2018 and posted shortly after a seismometer on the surface of the red planet. This seismometer has already recorded more than 1,300 March tremors. This means that Insight has greatly expanded our knowledge of Mars. Because apparently earthquakes also happen frequently on the neighboring planet Mars. Last May, the lander even measured a Marsquake with a power of five on the Richter scale. This earthquake went down in history as the strongest earthquake ever recorded on another planet. Additionally, Insight has detected several Marsquakes caused by hitting meteorites.
Insight provided a lot of information
The Insight mission allowed scientists to study the depth and composition of Mars’ crust, mantle and core. By observing how seismic waves pass through Mars, scientists have gained a unique insight into the planet’s interior. Data from the lander revealed interesting details about the Red Planet’s inner layers, its liquid core, the surprisingly variable subterranean remnants of the largely extinct magnetic field, and the prevailing weather patterns on this part of Mars. This not only expands our knowledge of our nearest neighbor, but also gives us greater insight into how other rocky worlds, including Earth and the Moon, formed. “Finally, we see Mars as a planet with layers,” Banerdt said. “These layers have different thicknesses and compositions. We are now beginning to understand these details. He showed us that Mars is a living, breathing planet.
Past
For the foreseeable future, team members will continue to collect data for as long as they can. NASA declares the mission terminated when Insight stops calling and contact with the lander is no longer possible. Incidentally, NASA’s Deep Space Network will continue to listen for a while even after that, just in case.
ray of hope
No heroic action will be taken to re-establish contact with InSight if it is broken. But there is still a glimmer of hope. If it suddenly starts blowing on Mars, Insight’s solar panels can be cleaned again. More than a gust of wind is therefore not necessary to extend the life of the lander at the last moment.
Whether that will actually happen remains to be seen. As Banerdt said, the team is at the mercy of Mars. But even if the dust from Insight quickly becomes fatal, we needn’t grieve over it. Researchers expect the data collected by Insight will yield discoveries for decades to come.
