“NASA’s Insight Mars Exploration Probe is gradually losing power and is expected to finish its science operations later this summer,” NASA said, adding that the Insight team expects the probe to be “off work” by December.
The space agency said the spacecraft’s solar panels are producing increasingly less energy as it continues to be exposed to a buildup of dust.
“At the current rate at which power is falling, non-seismic Insight devices will rarely operate following the end of May,” she added.
From that point on, NASA said, Insight might take some pictures and communicate with Earth, but is expected to stop responding around December.
So far, the stationary probe has detected more than 1,300 Martian earthquakes and identified earthquake-prone areas on the Red Planet.
InSight arrived at Mars in November 2018 to study seismic waves to learn more regarding the planet’s interior, helping scientists gain a better understanding of how planets form.
