NASA Insight Mission: ‘My power’s really low’: Nasa’s InSight rover prepares to sign off after 4 years on Mars |

NEW DELHI: After more than four years of discovery Mars, Nasa‘S InSight exploration vehicle preparing to sign off.
On Tuesday, the robotic lander tweeted that its power was “very low” and attached what could be the “final image” it could send back to Earth. The rover was launched on 5 May 2018 and landed on red planet after 5 months.

“My strength is very low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me: my time here is both productive and serene. If I could just keep talking. with my mission team, I will – but I will end here soon. Thanks for staying with me,” InSight tweeted.
Its science mission was originally planned to last two years but was later extended for another two years to December of this year.

On November 1, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said it was preparing to bid farewell to the spacecraft. “The day is coming when Clear look The lander will go silent, ending its history-making mission of uncovering the secrets within the Red Planet,” Nasa said on its website.
On November 26, the rover tweeted, “I’ve been fortunate to live on two planets. Four years ago I arrived safely on the second planet, to the delight of my family on returning. back to the first planet. Thanks to my team for sending me on this journey of discovery. I hope I’ve made you proud.”

NASA will officially end the mission when the lander misses two consecutive attempts to communicate with the spacecraft orbiting the planet.
Seismic Activity on the Red Planet
Insights – stands for Interior Discovery by Seismic Investigation, geodetic, and Heat Transport — the first space rover to probe the “inner space” of Mars. One of its research responsibilities is to study seismic activity on the Red Planet.
It has collected data on more than 1,300 earthquakes since landing on the Red Planet. In October 2022, InSight detected a magnitude 4 ‘Marsquake’ after a meteor 16-39 feet in diameter hit the planet. Through rover data, researchers recently discovered that Mars’ mantle has more iron than Earth’s.

According to Nasa, studying the interior of the Red Planet could help answer the question of how rocky planets form in the inner solar system. “This is the perfect laboratory to study the formation and evolution of rocky planets,” it said.
In the announcement, Nasa noted that Insight’s power generation “continues to decline” due to a thick layer of wind-blown dust on its solar panels.
(With input from agencies)