The robotic vehicle has been roaming the Martian surface since 2018. Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, InSight's main aim is to measure the planet's seismic activity as well as to provide accurate 3D models of its interior.

NASA has revealed that its Martian lander InSight may die this year due to Martian dust. According to the space agency, dust had affected 80 percent of the explorer's solar panels, leaving it with less than 700 watt-hours of power per sol (Martian day, which is a bit longer than an Earth day).

NASA said the problem is not new. Previous probes and landers too have been affected by Martian dust, but the problem was resolved by dust devils that cleaned off the solar panels and allowed the devices to last "years past their designed lifetime".

However, the hundreds of dust devils that passed InSight couldn't clean the "dinner-table-size panels". The robotic arm installed on the lander too failed to deal with the issue.

Another detail that is exacerbating the situation is the fact that the Red Planet has been moving farther way from the Sun, meaning the device will receive even less energy.

In order to conserve the power, NASA researchers decided to temporarily turn off some instruments, including sensors that collect weather and magnetic field data. Scientists say they expect InSight to die some time this year, although they note that the explorer may survive through Spring 2022.

Source: RIA Novosti

Related Links
Insight Mars Lander
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more

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InSight Mars Lander Gets a power boost
Pasadena CA (JPL) Jun 04, 2021
The team behind NASA's InSight Mars lander has come up with an innovative way to boost the spacecraft's energy at a time when its power levels have been falling. The lander's robotic arm trickled sand near one solar panel, helping the wind to carry off some of the panel's dust. The result was a gain of about 30 watt-hours of energy per sol, or Martian day. Mars is approaching aphelion, its farthest point from the Sun. That means less sunlight reaches the spacecraft's dust-covered solar panels, red ... read more