Space

NASA Announces End of 'InSight' Mars Mission

DEC 21 2022·Updated DEC 22 2022

#Space

NASA Announces End of 'InSight' Mars Mission

Story

Image credit: axios

The Facts

After over four years of collecting data and science on Mars, NASA’s InSight lander mission has come to an end according to the agency.
Axios
NASA had previously decided to declare the mission’s end if the lander missed two communication attempts, which has now happened.
NASA
The InSight lander’s power levels have been dwindling for months due to a large amount of dust coating its solar panels. Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Calif. sensed the lander was nearing its end but the final lack of communication was still unexpected.
The Associated Press
The $813M lander fulfilled much of its mission while exploring Mars. InSight detected over 1.3K Mars quakes, 10K dust devils, and atmospheric and seismic waves of meteors striking the planet.
Business Insider
InSight also provided a deeper look into Mars’ layers — giving scientists vital information to study the planet’s interior and even gain a better understanding of how rocky planets form.
Business Insider
Esteemed scientists mourned the loss of InSight, even referring to it as a colleague and lauding its discoveries. Geophysicist Savas Ceylan reflected, "For us, there was never a dull moment when Mars did not surprise us."
Gizmodo

Sources Split

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The Spin

Narrative A

NASA’s InSight lander was a nice and useful machine that adequately did its job of collecting data on Mars, but the overreaction to its end has been overblown and borderline sad. At the end of the day, InSight was a neat machine that simply stopped working. There’s no need to make a big deal about the project’s end.

Kotaku

Narrative B

NASA’s InSight lander has been a great gift to the scientific community for over four years, and its end is like saying goodbye to a dear friend. InSight provided groundbreaking information that will inspire scientific discovery for generations.

The Weather Network