NASA’s Mars InSight Lander Is Getting Ready to Die

[{"selector":"#anim-f2b5f739-2e05-4a7c-af33-9ebc3729fe48 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(12.514648210040342%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e17ea398-0385-485a-a5b4-45beea704173","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":900,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-c3d22ffd-88db-4879-9bff-bdee545084c9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-109.16905%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":900,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-68e3e082-dedb-4a41-a32b-381eb91593a0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-57b0147b-d684-4982-9624-67e279017a5e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(30.15384%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot

It’s almost time to bid farewell to NASA’s Mars InSight mission, which has likely reached its final months of life after more than three years of surface operations on the red planet

[{"selector":"#anim-44515db2-ecee-4b1b-8c3c-b274cb0be207 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.15624990386074%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-241b4846-5dac-4110-921d-73c196fbdade","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1b526297-83d4-4d42-ae19-42d9b881453a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0.92486%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-844012cb-7de5-4025-82d8-310e12a4661e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ab6041b4-a22f-48e4-b12c-65c2db6570a1","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-106.57534%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot

Just weeks after the lander’s seismometer recorded a magnitude 5 “marsquake”—the biggest earthquake ever detected on another planet

[{"selector":"#anim-7658709b-d986-4181-af00-88d4f61419db [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(12.514648210040342%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5ff626ac-b82e-4469-ba71-78cc921362e6","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-480d4dc9-89b2-4164-ad0a-2f52eb6f3fa2","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0.92486%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d0960de0-2097-4cc3-88fb-4f905ce20bd2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-473da88c-122a-4484-b30b-8e36032b7e52","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-107.88733%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot

—mission operators announced that dust buildup on the mission’s solar panels is slowly starving InSight of power.

[{"selector":"#anim-8c81da78-ca41-4bfb-977a-5c613f6f621c [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(12.514648210040342%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-812afbe4-9c61-456c-a6a6-154ab1d6bfe0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-e97755ca-c2c9-46f7-aac7-e5af7f4c75bf","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0.92486%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-085933e3-18d2-4777-8a85-cb43b27fd4b9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7c66a61f-b214-4974-b222-c9cbb13b4423","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-109.1954%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot

Unless the lander is graced by a fortuitous dust devil that blows some of the crud off the panels,

[{"selector":"#anim-578c49e3-d4c5-4864-8a83-69cd9e5197fc [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.15624990386074%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-aaac5664-0e37-430f-90a0-4889d2ce4ef2","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d745174a-ee44-46bb-9d48-ea7465b1edfa","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0.92486%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-38e9c04a-dda7-42b7-9932-3f23c073095c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-dcc83c04-873e-44d0-bd62-fc68b653233e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-106.90608%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot

InSight will end its science operations this summer and will be officially dead by the end of the year.

[{"selector":"#anim-c9ab3367-eb12-4a3f-a548-6d4ef37c986b [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(34.15624990386074%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f76cdcdc-510b-4a26-aa31-c57e38d4cbab","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2cf4521d-6185-43ea-a06e-8f81ae5363af","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0.92486%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-dc91be4b-0cb9-4d3c-ae59-f3f5c507482d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0f86da90-1fec-4748-9343-d956b4fdbfad","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-110.58823%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot

“We've been very busy at Mars for the last three and a half years,” said Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator, at the briefing

[{"selector":"#anim-93640a24-46e4-401e-a2e9-a77121b23e99 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(7.812499744007886%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-dc87abf6-221c-41d9-81ae-7e9d8108eb13","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-21b7fcc6-67fa-42fe-a714-4ed48dcba811","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0.92486%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8b33a9b0-67cb-4efb-ad18-5adb8fd72c8a","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1a7a5eff-ef3e-4a46-bf23-4875a974cc7a","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-106.5934%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Dot SWIPE UP

Upto 80% off on Today's Deal Swipe Up Now

[{"selector":"#anim-8af1e585-8e42-4c65-a225-d3363b9a76f7 [data-leaf-element=\"true\"]","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(31.249999886225726%, 0, 0) translate(25%, 0%) scale(1.5)","translate3d(0%, 0, 0) translate(0%, 0%) scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.14,.34,.47,.9)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-2c54fcc7-6075-4b7e-8e2b-6105ce54238f","keyframes":{"opacity":[1,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ff2817ca-640a-437b-a5ad-d6b2241e0add","keyframes":{"transform":["scale(3)","scale(1)"]},"delay":0,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(.3,0,.55,1)","fill":"forwards"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0bd87130-050c-4f02-972b-cac52292cfe0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6fd68405-b65e-47e3-87ba-a71379458154","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(-129.11877%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b801f979-5070-4507-a9d1-4db07be6e79f","keyframes":[{"transform":"rotate(-91deg) rotate(-540deg) scale(0.1) rotate(91deg)","opacity":0},{"transform":"none","opacity":1}],"delay":0,"duration":1000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both","iterations":1}] Dot Arrow SWIPE UP