NASA spacecraft discovers dead robot on Mars surface

Mars collects artifacts.

We could miss it without the large, powerful camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which surveys the Martian terrain for early evidence of water and the Red Planet’s changes. But the ship captured the space agency’s defunct InSight lander and the surrounding landing site, which was slowly becoming covered in desert dust.

“Can you recognize @NASAInSight?” NASA asked on X (formerly Twitter). “The retired lander was recently discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. By studying InSight’s landing site over time, scientists can see how quickly dust accumulates, which helps estimate the age of other surface disturbances.”

The InSight lander’s mission ended in December 2022, after four productive years of studying geological activity on Mars. NASA’s robot measured over 1,300 marsquakes, including a “monster quake,” providing further evidence that Mars is far from geologically dead. It analyzed the Martian core and also transmitted daily weather reports.

But unlike NASA’s nuclear-powered Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, the InSight lander was powered by solar energy. Martian dust had, as expected, reduced the lander’s performance by covering the solar panels with a thick layer of sediment. Eventually the batteries ran out.

In the middle of the image below is InSight. If you look closely, you can see the two deployed circular solar panels that enclose the main body.

NASA’s retired InSight lander collects dust on the flat plains of Elysium Planitia.
Photo credit: NASA

The InSight lander’s solar panels were used during testing in 2015.
Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Lockheed Martin Space

The tweet may have been deleted

Other previous Mars explorers also rest quietly in the Red Planet’s global desert, including the Phoenix lander, the Opportunity rover and the Ingenuity helicopter. NASA has also discovered discarded landing gear and parachutes.

One day, these relics of early Mars exploration may be protected, much like today’s national parks on Earth.

InSight is currently collecting dust on the flat equatorial plains of Elysium Planitia.