The NASA InSight lander officially retires, as confirmed by NASA.
The Martian spacecraft is among the most important techs that the international space agency launched.
Operating for more than four years, InSight was able to collect unique scientific data on the Red Planet's surface.
"The seismic data alone from this Discovery Program mission offers tremendous insights not just into Mars but other rocky bodies, including Earth," said NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen via the organization's official press release.
NASA InSight Lander Officially Retires
According to Independent UK's latest report, NASA was not able to contact the InSight lander since Dec. 15.
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NASA scientists said that if the spacecraft didn't respond after successive attempts, they will declare InSight as a retired mission.
On Wednesday, Dec. 21, the aerospace agency officially announced that the Martian lander is dead.
NASA said that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in Southern California, tried to contact the spacecraft twice.
Unfortunately, they were not able to receive any response from the InSight spacecraft. They concluded that the lander's solar-powered batteries run out of energy.
Space Fans Bid InSight Lander Farewell
Before NASA announced the retirement of the InSight lander, the space union already hinted that the power of the spacecraft will soon run out.
A day before the announcement, NASA was able to post the last photo taken by the Martian lander on Facebook.
In the FB post's comment section, many space fans shared how they appreciate the efforts made by NASA InSight.
If you are one of the space fans who were saddened by InSight's retirement, here are some fun facts about the spacecraft:
- NASA launched InSight on May 2018.
- InSight lander was able to gather essential info about Mars' three major layers; core, mantle, and crust.
- InSight was able to detect a Martian quake caused by a meteoroid strike.
Other stories about NASA's missions we previously wrote:
NASA's 40-year-old study discovered something strange in Jupiter's atmosphere.
New data revealed that two million pounds of debris helped the NASA DART mission to be successful.
For more news updates about NASA and its upcoming space missions, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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