Madrid
Updated:21/05/2022 02:40h
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After spending about three years anchored on the surface of Martethe probe InSight NASA is nearing its end. The lander, which arrived at the red planet in November 2018, will end its scientific operations this summer because its solar panels, with which it obtains the energy necessary to function, have accumulated too much dust. In December, they announce from the space agency, it will definitely stop working. So far, the mission had detected more than 1,300 ‘martequakes’ (Martian earthquakes); the most recent and powerful, one of magnitude 5 registered on May 4.
Information gathered from those earthquakes has allowed scientists to measure the depth and composition of the crust, mantle, and core.
from Mars. In addition, InSight has recorded valuable meteorological data thanks to a Spanish instrument, TWINS, and has studied remnants of the old magnetic field of the Red Planet.
“InSight has transformed our understanding of the interior of rocky planets and laid the groundwork for future missions,” says Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, in a statement. “We can apply what we’ve learned about the internal structure of Mars to Earth, the Moon, Venus, and even rocky planets in other solar systems,” she notes.
withdrawal posture
Equipped with a pair of solar panels each measuring about 2.2 meters wide, the lander was designed to accomplish major science goals in its first year on Mars (nearly two Earth years). Accomplished, you are now on an extended mission where your solar panels produce less and less power as they gather dust and more dust. Because of that reduced power, the team will soon be bringing the probe’s robotic arm into its rest position (called the ‘withdrawal posture’) for the last time later this month.
When InSight landed, the solar panels produced about 5,000 watt-hours each Martian day, or sol, enough to power an electric oven for an hour and 40 minutes. Now, they are producing about 500 watt-hours per sun. With so little energy they could barely power the same electric oven for ten minutes.
To further complicate matters, seasonal changes are starting at InSight’s location, Elysium Planitia, a wide, flat plain at the planet’s equator. Over the next several months, there will be more dust in the air, reducing sunlight and power to the lander. The mission would need a ‘dust devil’ (a passing whirlwind), to reverse the current trend.
If just 25% of InSight’s panels were blown away by the wind, the module would gain about 1,000 watt-hours per sun, enough to continue collecting science data. At the current rate, however, power is declining, and InSight’s non-seismic instruments will rarely turn on after the end of May.
The team prioritizes power for the sismometer, which will work at selected times of the day, such as at night, when winds are low and earthquakes are easier to ‘hear’. Still, it is expected to shut down in late summer, concluding the science phase of the mission.
At that point, the lander will still have enough power to operate, take occasional pictures, and communicate with Earth. By December, the power will already be very low and InSight will simply stop responding.
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