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InSight, NASA's ambitious mission to study the deep interior of the Red Planet, may be officially over, but its legacy continues to thrive. Dedicated to unraveling Mars's mysteries, the lander is still shedding light on the planet's dusty, enigmatic surface.
Even in retirement, InSight is contributing valuable insights through NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), and offering clues about the evolution of the Martian dust layer over time.
From the time of its landing in November 2018 until it retired in December 2022, InSight had a commendable journey. After its power source failed, however, it stopped communicating with Earth.
Efforts to reconnect to the lander continued, with scientists hoping that winds would clear enough dust from its solar panels to allow the batteries to recharge.
As these efforts proved to be unsuccessful, NASA decided to stop listening for InSight at the close of 2022.
Scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who led the mission, used images from the stationary lander's cameras and from MRO's HiRISE to predict the rate of dust settling on its solar panels, as it significantly impacted power generation.
Dust does not just layer the Martian surface ; it drives the forces shaping the atmosphere and landscape.
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