After nearly four years of probing the depths of Mars, the InSight probe plans to end operations next summer due to dust accumulating on its solar panels. However, the data collected will be used by scientists from all over the world for several years, to continue to improve understanding of the way planets form, according to the US space agency (NASA) announcing this news Tuesday.
The “Insight” probe, which is equipped with a particularly high-sensitivity seismometer, recorded more than 1,300 “Martian tremors”, one of them with a magnitude of 5 just two weeks ago, and it is the strongest so far. But before the mission ends, around July, the seismograph will be turned off. The probe’s energy level will then be measured about once a day, and some pictures are also taken. By the end of 2022, the mission will be completely halted.
This is due to the months-long accumulation of Martian dust on the two solar panels, each 2.2 meters wide. And it turned out that the speed of dust accumulation is almost equal to what was previously estimated by the NASA teams.
About a year ago, NASA cleaned up a sign…dust. The robot’s arm dug out the surface and gently lowered loads of Martian soil over the robot. The wind carried part of the dust onto the solar panels, which allowed to extend the life of the mission.
But why not integrate tools that allow cleaning the plates directly? The reason is a question of cost, Bruce Barnardt of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said during a press conference Tuesday. Such a mechanism would have detracted from the budget for scientific instruments.
InSight, one of the four robots currently on Mars with the American probes Perseverance and Curiosity and China’s Jurong, reached the red planet in November 2018. Its built-in seismometer allowed it to French industry, with great achievements.
The internal structure of Mars has always raised a “big question mark”, according to Banrdt, who has been working on this mission for more than ten years. But thanks to Insight, “we were able for the first time in history to map the interior of Mars.”