InSight Lander News & Features
NASA InSight Study Finds Mars Is Spinning Faster
Data sent by the spacecraft before it retired last December has provided new details about how fast the planet rotates and how much it wobbles.
NASA Retires InSight Mars Lander Mission After Years of Science
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 (JPL) in Southern California were unable to contact the lander after two consecutive attempts, leading them…
NASA Prepares to Say ‘Farewell’ to InSight Spacecraft
Editor’s note: The text has been updated to include a reference to seismic data from NASA’s Viking missions to Mars. A closer look at what goes into wrapping up the mission as the spacecraft’s power supply continues to dwindle. The…
NASA’s InSight Lander Detects Stunning Meteoroid Impact on Mars
The agency’s lander felt the ground shake during the impact while cameras aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spotted the yawning new crater from space. NASA’s InSight lander recorded a magnitude 4 marsquake last Dec. 24, but scientists learned only later…
NASA’s InSight Waits Out Dust Storm
InSight’s team is taking steps to help the solar-powered lander continue operating for as long as possible. NASA’s InSight mission, which is expected to end in the near future, saw a recent drop in power generated by its solar panels…
NASA’s InSight ‘Hears’ Its First Meteoroid Impacts on Mars
The Mars lander’s seismometer has picked up vibrations from four separate impacts in the past two years. NASA’s InSight lander has detected seismic waves from four space rocks that crashed on Mars in 2020 and 2021. Not only do these…
NASA’s InSight Gets a Few Extra Weeks of Mars Science
The mission’s team has chosen to operate its seismometer longer than previously planned, although the lander will run out of power sooner as a result. As the power available to NASA’s InSight Mars lander diminishes by the day, the spacecraft’s…
NASA’s InSight Still Hunting Marsquakes as Power Levels Diminish
Dusty solar panels and darker skies are expected to bring the Mars lander mission to a close around the end of this year. NASA’s InSight Mars lander is gradually losing power and is anticipated to end science operations later this…
NASA’s InSight Records Monster Quake on Mars
Estimated to be magnitude 5, the quake is the biggest ever detected on another planet. NASA’s InSight Mars lander has detected the largest quake ever observed on another planet: an estimated magnitude 5 temblor that occurred on May 4, 2022,…