NASA retires InSight Mars lander mission after years of science
(VOVWORLD) - NASA’s InSight mission has ended after more than four years of conducting research science on Mars.
 (Photo: NASA/ JPL-Caltech) |
Mission controllers at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California were unable to contact the lander after two consecutive attempts, leading them to conclude the spacecraft’s solar-powered batteries have run out of energy – a state engineers refer to as “dead bus.”
NASA had previously decided to declare the mission over if the lander missed two communication attempts. The agency will continue to listen for a signal from the lander, just in case, but hearing from it at this point is considered unlikely. The last time InSight communicated with Earth was Dec. 15.