NASA spacecraft spots dead robot on Mars surface

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently captured a view of the retired InSight lander.
Credit: NASA

Mars is collecting artifacts.

Without the large, powerful camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which observes Martian terrain for past evidence of water and how the Red Planet is changing, we might miss it. But the craft captured the space agency’s defunct InSight lander and surrounding landing site, slowly being blanketed in desert dust.

“Can you spot @NASAInSight?” NASA asked on X (formerly Twitter). “The retired lander was recently spotted 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 investigating geologic activity on Mars. The NASA robot measured over 1,300 marsquakes, including a “monster” temblor, providing further evidence that Mars isn’t nearly geologically dead. It analyzed Mars’ core, and also beamed back daily weather reports.

Yet unlike NASA’s Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, which are nuclear-powered, the InSight lander ran on solar power. Martian dust had expectedly whittled down the power of the lander by blanketing its solar panels in a thick layer of sediment. Eventually, its batteries died.

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At the center of the image below is InSight. Looking closely, you can see its two deployed circular solar panels sandwiching the main body.

NASA’s retired InSight lander collecting dust on the flat plains of Elysium Planitia.
Credit: NASA

The InSight lander’s solar panels deployed during testing in 2015.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Lockheed Martin Space

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

One day, perhaps, these relics of early Martian exploration will be protected, similar to national park sites on Earth today.

For now, InSight collects dust on the flat equatorial plains of Elysium Planitia.

Mark is an award-winning journalist and the science editor at Mashable. After communicating science as a ranger with the National Park Service, he began a reporting career after seeing the extraordinary value in educating the public about the happenings in earth sciences, space, biodiversity, health, and beyond. 

You can reach Mark at [email protected].

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