#mars insight lander

[therandomartmaker]

“I’ll be signing off here, soon.” - InSight, Dec 20th 2022

“So, Human Andrea? Why we have landed on the [Planet of the War God]?”

The human before xem, entrenched in gear and insulated materials, face unseeable through the dark transparent mineral making up what they see through, spoke, “I was wondering if someone had, well, returned something.” Xir observed the lingering periwinkle across her nape and shoulders, tinting the usual peppy green she exuded.

“What is there to return? Humanity had never inhabited the [Planet of the War God], I believe. You achieved mass FTL travel before you learnt planet terraforming.”

“Hah,” the female laughed, “We may not have inhabited [Mars] but we did send… rovers. To see what it was like. We had planned, or discussed at the least, the inhabitability of it.”

They trudged through the barren dirt, Andrea staring determinately in one direction, likely observing a tracker of some sort on their HUD. Xir curiousity eventually got the better of xem.

“What, exactly, are you looking for, Human Andrea?”

The woman huffed, amused, “Well, I’m looking for the rovers, of course.”

“But why? Surely, by now, the rovers would’ve broken down?”

“Oh, probably.” Andrea’s body language, from what they could observe, was amused. Deeply so, even. The spike of yellow-green, followed by a melancholy purple deepened from the prior periwinkle cemented the fact. Deeply amused by xir confusion yet quite sad about their topic of conversation.

“I’m looking for InSight, mostly, but Sojourner, Spirit, Perseverance, or Curiousity are fine too. Maybe i’ll find Opportunity, but… Oh! Well. My scanners are showing that all of them are still here.”

The spike of wistfulness was unexpected, an almost positive tint to her words.

“You had said you were wondering if someone have returned something, why ‘returned’?”

“I was wondering if someone remembered them.” Here, it was sadness.

Xir blinked, or at least, that’s what xey believed how Human Andrea would describe xir Sight-Reset. Xey were blinded by the [spectrum of the sky] that flowed through her green.

“You are sad, that no one seems to have remembered these inconsequential rovers, yet you are… happy? That they are here for you to find?”

A spike of irritation, quickly washed away by resignment. “We humans pack bond to anything, Scylla, they’re not inconsequential to me.”

Xey do not believe that long-[powerless][dead][lost][depleted] rovers had impact on Human Andrea’s life, short as her existence (in terms of a human) had been. Still, xey trudged forward with the young adult, silent and grave as Human Andrea walked, a [ceremony of the dead] march, for comrades lost.

If xey had a phrase to describe it… ah, what was that saying in the [Lands of the Pariahs] of their home?

‘For as long as you exist, in memory or in bone, there is neither death nor [death in memory]’

Some notes about this for clarification and other stuff below :D

Andrea means Manly, and i thought it was fitting when i searched up the name halfway through writing.

Scylla, the alien, is a synaesthetic species wihout ‘eyes’ Xey are capable of seeing emotion (although everyone’s emotions have different colours. There is no universality to it. Someone’s anger could be a deep dark blue, for example, not a plain red.)

The ‘body language’ Scylla is referring to is, in fact, the synaesthesia that ripples with Andrea’s movements and emotions.

Scylla is indeed named after a deep sea greek monster, no i do not know why, but it is a nickname, not xir actual name (andrea gave it to xem after failing to pronounce xir actual name several times)

The phrases or words in square brackets are words that are being transliterated (if i’m using that word correctly) they are essentially words that i would’ve liked to have an english word for, or thought wouldn’t have the same terminology for an alien species.

Yes, i chose to make xem use ‘planet of the war god’ because i wanted to.

‘Spectrum of the sky’ is ‘rainbow’ if that wasn’t obvious.

the four phrases/words in a row were for long-dead except meant to be a more ‘general’ term for ‘loss of existence’ where ‘loss of existence’ wouldn’t have been gramatically or thematically correct.

‘Ceremony of the dead’ is indeed ‘funeral’ and, ‘death in memory’ is for a word i wish exists. It would make my poetry so much easier.

The ‘Land of the Pariahs’ mentioned is a barren desert on Scylla’s homeland. Nomads travel it, and are known for the hundreds of stories passed down, growing generation by generation, of pictures and pieces of lives once lived.

Scylla thinks the rovers had no impact on Andrea because they were a good few decades ago, actually. The newer ones were later retrieved, but Andrea had heard about these ones from grandparents etc. and fell in love with them.

This was written upon my knowledge of InSight’s loss of power, because of the dust build up on it’s solar panels. I pay my respects to the lander, and wish whatever tiny sliver of existence it had a peaceful future exploration of things that we do not know.

Finally, thank you for reading this! I hope you have a nice day/night and may we one day give our rovers and drones and landers their respectful resting places.

#randomartmaker rambles #randomartmaker writing #humans are space orcs #humans are space oddities #humans are space australians #humans are space fae #pack bonding #aliens #humans and aliens #nasa mars #mars #short story #small story #my writing #mars insight lander #wrote this at 10pm lolol #sorry to any injustices i do #i am tired

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA Retires InSight Mars Lander Mission After Years of Science The mission has concluded that the solar-powered lander has run out of energy after more than four years on the Red Planet. NASA’s InSight mission has ended after more than four years of collecting unique science on Mars. Mission controllers at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory 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. “I watched the launch and landing of this mission, and while saying goodbye to a spacecraft is always sad, the fascinating science InSight conducted is cause for celebration,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “The seismic data alone from this Discovery Program mission offers tremendous insights not just into Mars but other rocky bodies, including Earth.” Short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, InSight set out to study the deep interior of Mars. The lander data has yielded details about Mars’ interior layers, the surprisingly strong remnants beneath the surface of its extinct magnetic dynamo, weather on this part of Mars, and lots of quake activity. Its highly sensitive seismometer, along with daily monitoring performed by the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES) and the Marsquake Service managed by ETH Zurich, detected 1,319 marsquakes, including quakes caused by meteoroid impacts, the largest of which unearthed boulder-size chunks of ice late last year. Such impacts help scientists determine the age of the planet’s surface, and data from the seismometer provides scientists a way to study the planet’s crust, mantle, and core. “With InSight, seismology was the focus of a mission beyond Earth for the first time since the Apollo missions, when astronauts brought seismometers to the Moon,” said Philippe Lognonné of Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, principal investigator of InSight’s seismometer. “We broke new ground, and our science team can be proud of all that we’ve learned along the way.” The seismometer was the last science instrument that remained powered on as dust accumulating on the lander’s solar panels gradually reduced its energy, a process that began before NASA extended the mission earlier this year. “InSight has more than lived up to its name. As a scientist who’s spent a career studying Mars, it’s been a thrill to see what the lander has achieved, thanks to an entire team of people across the globe who helped make this mission a success,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL, which manages the mission. “Yes, it’s sad to say goodbye, but InSight’s legacy will live on, informing and inspiring.” All Mars missions face challenges, and InSight was no different. The lander featured a self-hammering spike – nicknamed “the mole” – that was intended to dig 16 feet (5 meters) down, trailing a sensor-laden tether that would measure heat within the planet, enabling scientists to calculate how much energy was left over from Mars’ formation. Designed for the loose, sandy soil seen on other missions, the mole could not gain traction in the unexpectedly clumpy soil around InSight. The instrument, which was provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), eventually buried its 16-inch (40-centimeter) probe just slightly below the surface, collecting valuable data on the physical and thermal properties of the Martian soil along the way. This is useful for any future human or robotic missions that attempt to dig underground. The mission buried the mole to the extent possible thanks to engineers at JPL and DLR using the lander’s robotic arm in inventive ways. Primarily intended to set science instruments on the Martian surface, the arm and its small scoop also helped remove dust from InSight’s solar panels as power began to diminish. Counterintuitively, the mission determined they could sprinkle dirt from the scoop onto the panels during windy days, allowing the falling granules to gently sweep dust off the panels. “We’ve thought of InSight as our friend and colleague on Mars for the past four years, so it’s hard to say goodbye,” said Bruce Banerdt of JPL, the mission’s principal investigator. “But it has earned its richly deserved retirement.” TOP IMAGE....NASA’s InSight Mars lander took this final selfie on April 24, 2022, the 1,211th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech CENTRE IMAGE....This is one of the last images ever taken by NASA's InSight Mars lander. Captured on Dec. 11, 2022, the 1,436th Martian day, or sol, of the mission, it shows InSight's seismometer on the Red Planet's surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech LOWER IMAGE....NASA's InSight lander used the Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) on the end of its robotic arm to image this sunset on Mars on April 25, 2019. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #news #nasa #Mars #mars insight lander

[maxxzophone]

"My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me."

IM FUCKING SOBBING

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

#mars insight lander #IM ACTIRDS #I. IM CRIMV #Im crYING. MM #NOOOOOOO

[inkyvoids]

The core of Mars can look bigger than it actually is because of a previously unknown layer of molten rock surrounding it, scientists suggest with a pair of new studies. This may finally solve a mystery from two years ago about how the center of Mars appeared surprisingly large and soft, the researchers said.

#mars #mars insight lander #space.com

[burnt-scone]

Bros crying over Mar Insight Lander.

I'm Bro.

#Mars Insight Lander #This Opportunity all over again

[kreuzaderny]

Newly formed craters on Mars located using seismic and acoustic wave data from InSight

Meteoroid impacts shape planetary surfaces by forming new craters and alter atmospheric composition. During atmospheric entry and impact on the ground, meteoroids excite transient acoustic and seismic waves. However, new crater formation and the associated impact-induced mechanical waves have yet to be observed jointly beyond Earth. Here we report observations of seismic and acoustic waves from the NASA InSight lander’s seismometer that we link to four meteoroid impact events on Mars observed in spacecraft imagery. We analysed arrival times and polarization of seismic and acoustic waves to estimate impact locations, which were subsequently confirmed by orbital imaging of the associated craters. Crater dimensions and estimates of meteoroid trajectories are consistent with waveform modelling of the recorded seismograms. With identified seismic sources, the seismic waves can be used to constrain the structure of the Martian interior, corroborating previous crustal structure models, and constrain scaling relationships between the distance and amplitude of impact-generated seismic waves on Mars, supporting a link between the seismic moment of impacts and the vertical impactor momentum. Our findings demonstrate the capability of planetary seismology to identify impact-generated seismic sources and constrain both impact processes and planetary interiors.

#mars #nasa #seismology #mars insight lander

[mindblowingscience]

A team of planetary scientists from Belgium, the U.S., France and Germany has found evidence from the InSight lander that suggests Mars has an all-liquid core and internal mass anomalies. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their analysis of data sent back to Earth from the lander. As the research team notes, determining the interior characteristics of the solar system's planets is hindered by their inaccessibility. In this instance, they were referring to work by research teams attempting to determine the inner makeup of Mars. To date, no one has been able to show whether its core is solid or liquid, for example—a characteristic that could impact work exploring whether the planet ever harbored life. In this new effort, the researchers focused their efforts on data from the InSight lander, which landed on Mars in 2018... The researchers found evidence in RISE DATA of what they describe as "mass anomalies" beneath the surface of the planet. The anomalies were found to stretch from the top of the mantel to the bottom. They further note that Mars' gravity field and likely its overall shape is mainly determined by the rotation rate of the planet. But they suggest that the anomalies may have an impact, as well. More importantly, by studying data related to the core and characterizing it separately from data related to the mantle, the team found what they believe to be evidence showing that Mars' core is molten liquid—and they also found a slight increase in the planet's spin.

Continue Reading

#science #stem #space #planetary science #mars #insight lander

[spacecdt]

It’s official… Controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) were unable to communicate with the the InSight Mars lander after two consecutive attempts earlier this month, which means the solar-powered batteries have run out of juice. Simply put, the lander is dead. After conducting years of unique and incredibly valuable science, NASA has officially retired InSight. This is its final image. Good night, sweet prince.

#nasa #space #engineering #science #technology #aerospace #spaceflight #space exploration #mars #martian #rover #lander #robot #robotics #nasa insight #insight

[chiefnooniensingh]

I'm not crying I just have a branch in my eye

#nasa insight #rover insight #insight #nasa #mars #mars lander #mars rover

[depressed-orca]

I know I said I was going on break but I wanted to post this. I found out about the mars lander InSight and I've spent almost an hour crying over them, Opportunity and other rovers. Their last words back to us are so heartbreaking, especially Opportunity's. Just the idea of something dying alone out in the vastness of space by themselves is so gut wrenching.

Also the fact Opportunity sang happy birthday to itself once too hurts.

I hope one day we can bring them home and give them a peaceful rest.

#my art #stuff i drew #mars rover #opportunity rover #insight lander

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

#Mars #planets #NASA #InSight Lander #space #astronomy #astrophotography #religion is a mental illness

[blueiskewl]

NASA’s InSight Lander Detects Stunning Meteoroid Impact on Mars

Christmas came a little early for NASA’s InSight mission last December when the lander detected a massive quake on Mars.

Now, scientists know what caused the red planet to rumble. A meteoroid slammed into Mars 2,174 miles (3,500 kilometers) away from the lander and created a fresh impact crater on the Martian surface.

The ground literally moved beneath InSight on December 24, 2021, when the lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake. Before and after photos captured from above by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been circling Mars since 2006, spotted a new crater this past February.

When scientists connected the dots from both missions, they realized it was one of the largest meteoroid strikes on Mars since NASA began studying the red planet. Images from the orbiter’s two cameras showed the blast zone of the crater, which allowed scientists to compare it with the epicenter of the quake detected by InSight.

The space rock also revealed boulder-size ice chunks when it slammed into Mars. They were found buried closer to the warm Martian equator than any ice that has ever been detected on the planet.

#NASA InSight Lander Detects Meteoroid Impact on Mars #nasa mars reconnaissance orbiter #nasa insight lander #mars #the roman god of war #nasa #nasa photos #nasa picture of the day #space #solar system #astronomy #amazing #ice on mars

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Biggest marsquake was five times larger than previous record-holder Late on the Earth night of May 4, or Sol 1222 on Mars, the seismometer aboard NASA's InSight Mars Lander detected a quake on the Red Planet, with reverberations lasting many hours. The marsquake was at least five times as large as the next largest quake recorded on the planet, according to new research published Wednesday in Geophysical Research Letters. Additional research related to the record marsquake is also being presented this week at AGU's Fall Meeting, in Chicago from 12 to 16 December and online everywhere. "This was definitely the biggest marsquake that we have seen," said Taichi Kawamura, lead author and planetary scientist at the Institut de physique du globe de Paris, France. Kawamura is co-leader, along with co-author and seismologist John Clinton at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, of the marsquake service (MQS), an international team that monitors and evaluates the seismological data recorded by the NASA InSight Mars Lander. "The energy released by this single marsquake is equivalent to the cumulative energy from all other marsquakes we've seen so far, and although the event was over 2000 kilometers (1200 miles) distant, the waves recorded at InSight were so large they almost saturated our seismometer," said Clinton. Seismology on Mars can give scientists a better idea about what lies under the planet's surface—including water—and how its crust and deep interior are structured. Like on Earth, most detected marsquakes are thought to occur due to fault movements. The largest previous marsquake, recorded in August 2021 (Sol 976 on Mars), was around a magnitude of 4.2, while the May quake had a magnitude of 4.7. (marsquake magnitudes are comparable to those of earthquakes.) "For the first time we were able to identify surface waves, moving along the crust and upper mantle, that have traveled around the planet multiple times," Clinton noted. This paper is accompanied by two additional papers, also published Wednesday in Geophysical Research Letters, which cover the quake's surface wave paths and velocities. The waves from the record-breaking quake lasted about 10 hours—quite a while, considering no previous marsquakes exceeded an hour. It was also curious because the epicenter was close to but outside the Cerberus Fossae region, which is the most seismically active region on the Red Planet. The epicenter did not appear to be obviously related to known geologic features, although a deep epicenter could be related to hidden features lower in the crust. Marsquakes are often divided into two different types—those with high-frequency waves characterized by rapid but shorter vibrations, and those of low-frequency, when the surface moves slowly but with larger amplitude. This recent seismic event is rare in that it exhibited characteristics of both high- and low-frequency quakes. Further research might reveal that previously recorded low- and high-frequency quakes are merely two aspects of the same thing, Kawamura said. The new research is the first to describe and analyze the data from this large quake, which were released by the Mars Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) data service, NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), together with the MQS catalog, in early October. InSight is thought to be near its operational end because dust has progressively covered its solar panels and reduced its power during the four years since its landing in November 2018. "We are impressed that almost at the end of the extended mission, we had this very remarkable event," Kawamura said. Based on the data gathered from this quake, "I would say this mission was an extraordinary success," he continued. Kawamura said this publication is the first of a number of papers, both from his team and from partners, including NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ETH Zurich, France's National Centre for Space Studies and UCLA that will be published in AGU's special collection on the event. Just as seismological research helps geologists learn about the evolution of Earth, this kind of data can help planetary scientists understand more about the evolution of the Red Planet, Kawamura said. IMAGE....NASA’s InSight Lander domed seismometer measured Mars’s largest quake. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

#space #science #Astronomy #physics #nasa #mars insight lander

[merelygifted]

Saying 'Farewell' to InSight Mars Lander | NASA

On Dec.18, 2022, InSight did not respond to communications from Earth. As expected, the lander’s power has been declining for months, and it’s assumed InSight may have reached its end of operations. NASA will declare the mission over when InSight misses two consecutive communication sessions with the spacecraft orbiting Mars, part of the Mars Relay Network – but only if the cause of the missed communication is the lander itself. After that, NASA’s Deep Space Network will listen for a time, just in case.

InSight launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5, 2018. After a six-month cruise, InSight landed on Mars on Nov. 26, 2018, and immediately began surface operations at Elysium Planitia, but science data collection didn't start fully until about 10 weeks after landing. That's because InSight's science goals and instruments are very different from other Mars landers or rovers. In some ways, InSight's science activities were designed to be more like a marathon than a sprint. Over the past four years, the lander data has yielded details about Mars’ interior layers, its liquid core, the surprisingly variable remnants beneath the surface of its mostly extinct magnetic field, weather on this part of Mars, and lots of quake activity. Learn more about InSight, the first mission to explore Mars' deep interior.

#sigh #Mars #InSight Mars Lander #Astronomy #Space Exploration #Marsology not Geology? #Marsquakes #NASA

[inkyvoids]

The ground shakes. Paintings tilt. Walls crack. Rubble may fall. On Earth, we understand how and where these events happen due to the discovery of plate tectonics – the continental crust’s creation, movement, and destruction. However, when astronauts placed seismometers on the lunar surface during NASA’s Apollo mission era, those instruments recorded quakes on the Moon. In the 1970s, the Viking landers also recorded quakes on the surface of Mars. Since neither of these worlds has plate tectonics, scientists set about collecting more data to understand the phenomena, which led to the recent NASA InSight lander. Now, a new paper in Geophysical Research Letters explains how the largest recorded seismic event on Mars provided evidence for a different sort of tectonic origin — the release of stress within the Martian crust.

#mars #mars insight lander #universe today

[tt-squid]

#i use this image for everything but its true #im so going to fucking cry instight has kust been sitting there #like none of the mission goals worked as planned and finally years later insight records a meteoroid crash just as its about tosay goodbye?? #IM CRYING OVER HERE OKAY #insight mars lander #like okay insight has detected seismic waves and stuff?? #but no one is paying attention to them :( #im gonna cry over this tiny little lander thats been stuck on mars for years #and the grounds too hard to dig through and the wind doesnt clear the dust off the solar panels #theyre just completley alone out there :((((