NASA spacecraft spots dead robot on Mars surface | Mashable.

NASA spacecraft spots dead robot on Mars surface

A Martian artifact.
By Matthews Martins on 
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.
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.
The InSight lander's solar panels deployed during testing in 2015. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Lockheed Martin Space

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.

TopicsNASA

Comments

  1. So now we are littering on other planets too. No one safe from us.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ... We wre not safe from your litter here either 😜

      Delete
  2. Esta ali perto daquela parte cinza. Consigo enxergar nitidamente.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Should have bought the extended warranty!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is it Optimus prime ?

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  5. Robot can' be alive,so is no dead🤣

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. a battery can be dead, yet it's not alive either ☺️

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    2. an end can be dead yet it was never alive

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    3. Dead battery🤣

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    4. Jonny 5 was alive

      Delete
  6. Se llama wall-e

    ReplyDelete
  7. It was never alive

    ReplyDelete
  8. Probably one of transformers from dark moon

    ReplyDelete
  9. Considering all the meanings for the word 'Dead' there are a lot of daft comments in here

    ReplyDelete
  10. Find a disabled spacecraft from another planet and the fun begins.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I bet that the aliens killed it 😱😱. 😂😂

    ReplyDelete
  12. At least robots can't be stupid....

    ReplyDelete
  13. I thought this was the beginning of a pimple popping video.

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  14. Despite the use of language by Mashable(🙄), it’s probably one of the 6 offline rovers that earth sent up, which technically could be considered dead since their functions have ceased. Now tbh, today people say that their car died despite it not being organic in any way(other than the oil 🤷‍♂️ ). I think this is pretty cool though if they find a derelict ship stay the F away from it 🤣

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  15. https://media.tenor.co/x4N5O0nXzmIAAAAC/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-marvin-the-paranoid-android.gif?t=AAYYuyEJGwMHScRVOQNCCg&c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2s&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0QcM6MxcBRQa_RBpJG15ty4q-wM6eEJgS9GK1EygnCRrbKhOf9hYVf9-0_aem_AdkykpbQaAS6jE2APY9jswTrsiATOO7EcItGqPLs79kY1YaMLCgSzuqEupimTHlSFy9Oy9tRv_68DeTZKSt-ldl5

    ReplyDelete
  16. Another fictional pic and story. If it was really there why would you not zoom in on it rather than showing a whole lot of nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hmm! Nasa just likes to play with individual's minds. If the picture is showing the #Truth, which I doubt, It's a robot it doesn't have a life so it cannot be dead, offline maybe. Please use your words correctly to maximize the #TRUTH

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hey guys, a conspirationnist !

      Delete
    2. can batteries be dead then? Did you read the article, or just the sentence on the photograph?

      Delete
  18. Is it standing next to a sentient matress?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Povo joga lixo até em Marte depois reclamam do planeta tá se destruindo afff

    ReplyDelete
  20. I wanna pop that blackhead 😂

    ReplyDelete
  21. Нека го огледа по от близко,може да види надпис СССР .

    ReplyDelete
  22. Just in time to celebrate the 40th anniversary together.
    https://giphy.com/gifs/transformers-g1-optimus-prime-VeWllmR9zfaco

    ReplyDelete
  23. It's really just another Dollar General

    ReplyDelete
  24. O do filme, "Eu, Robô. Largaram em Marte com medo da IA

    ReplyDelete
  25. Itu bukan robot la.. Itu cerek air panas aku.. Tertinggal masa berhenti rehat nak ke matahari kelmarin.. Sat nak pi ambik.. Tak perasan pulak rnr tu planet marikh

    ReplyDelete
  26. přístroj nemůže být mrtvý je jenom rozbitý mrtvý může být jen člověk nebo zvíře

    ReplyDelete
  27. Is it one of ours?

    ReplyDelete
  28. They are trying to replace the understanding for humanity that a robot cannot be alive from the very beginning...

    ReplyDelete
  29. How many zoomed in to see nothing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. try reading the article.

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    2. why would he do that when he could solely focus on the image and the title of the article?

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    3. good idea.... but so much is click bait.. I'm sure they found a robot 100%

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    4. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    5. that nothing you zoomed into is still Mars, so not nothing.

      “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.”

      Delete
  30. The amount of people that read only headlines....

    ReplyDelete
  31. I detect foul play.

    ReplyDelete
  32. https://media1.tenor.co/m/s3qM34cMY08AAAAd/walle-pixar.gif?c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2tfd2ViY29tbWVudHM&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR0pbqpJFSaQQy3Z6-J9gCdky7qTJYKyb4A_sC0oW2fwNjWKir1_aWyeWsE_aem_AdkF8xxigyQFhsXdEbwrsNx4A4FfoCwfRraX_9H0y21Ul20nVO7mPVmsfo1BW4aHGYnl6jOWj7geeGzqdSS6fpEy

    ReplyDelete
  33. Ya my neighbour's cat jumped the fence and bonked a dog. How? News?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Must be China . to avoid Tariff Tax.

    ReplyDelete
  35. There is no proof for this..another farce!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did you try to research it? Of course you didn't
      Nuhuh is easier.

      Delete
    2. ....😂😂😂sure it is a robot and in the upper right hand corner is a picture of Donald Trump chiseled in stone ... 😂😂😂

      Delete
  36. Decepticon or autobot?

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  37. How do you know the robot was dead maybe it was his day off

    ReplyDelete
  38. What did it die of ?

    ReplyDelete
  39. https://giphy.com/gifs/playstation-helldivers-2-ii-MlyicdUndRbn5zUiAL

    ReplyDelete
  40. https://media1.tenor.co/m/H3aUSivd1R0AAAAd/walle-shutter-authority.gif?c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2tfd2ViY29tbWVudHM&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR06iBrfWv24aEwSSgOmiDWTkSjJ60zb1mQl2uofbodL400Rdv76UodoVGo_aem_AdkI3rDtxLMLeiu4NvVCbSegrbhgofHvWRbuZ3Dj3CFp6S7guUSqoTJv3XKqNfxaQtvRwoxlD0HmdMX50Ns8aAJU

    ReplyDelete
  41. https://giphy.com/gifs/giffffr-tyttpGSdJWowdv47eCI

    ReplyDelete
  42. Did it say anything about Will Robinson?

    ReplyDelete
  43. https://media.tenor.co/1IG6EM1whsoAAAAC/glasses.gif?t=AAYYvPRsVeoHScTyiAvP6g&c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2s&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2yF7j7N85NHqNuT8bgNfCWbuh7HGWrGPwvLM5a-fRl-XaLam69szXNcwQ_aem_AdnIxBcajEkqAl3N-giouom21CWXz5EEV5dMomnffoTOwZJjqodRdlCoxpPUCvzVsCm60F-Xmw5e93pawSvAZi9c

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  44. Replies
    1. dead as in zero battery life. Does anyone read between the lines anymore? I SeE HeAdLiNeS

      Delete
    2. bless your heart.

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    3. It should be me saying bless your heart.

      Delete
  45. https://giphy.com/gifs/wall-e-voirD51GFZte0

    ReplyDelete
  46. Snoop says shoulda had Carshield

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://media1.tenor.co/m/FJVFrOrTrf4AAAAd/number-one-30rock.gif?c=VjFfZmFjZWJvb2tfd2ViY29tbWVudHM&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR06iBrfWv24aEwSSgOmiDWTkSjJ60zb1mQl2uofbodL400Rdv76UodoVGo_aem_AdkI3rDtxLMLeiu4NvVCbSegrbhgofHvWRbuZ3Dj3CFp6S7guUSqoTJv3XKqNfxaQtvRwoxlD0HmdMX50Ns8aAJU

      Delete
  47. https://giphy.com/gifs/transformers-transformers-one-trailer-ciCfFkKd55FwGcLflE

    ReplyDelete
  48. https://giphy.com/gifs/moon-cry-trip-IYUY3PPXeNYo8

    ReplyDelete
  49. How do they know it's dead and not just sleeping?

    ReplyDelete
  50. Stop lying! NASA just keeps lying

    ReplyDelete
  51. When we were buzy worried abt spreading of covid, China was buzy sending dead robots to space it seems

    ReplyDelete
  52. Life! Don't talk to me about life!

    ReplyDelete
  53. Cocking stories as a pretext to establish space military force. Paid mainstream propaganda machines are doing the same 🤣

    ReplyDelete
  54. we should disappear

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  55. Littering Mars I see.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Jonny number 5 !.

    ReplyDelete
  57. It might just be napping.

    ReplyDelete
  58. It was easy. I just needed to use find my robot on my Mac.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Plot twist: it’s not ours!

    ReplyDelete
  60. It was never alive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yeah. Until you’ve seen mars Paris, you haven’t lived.

      Delete
  61. They couldn’t strap a GoPro on the spacecraft, it’s 2024.

    ReplyDelete
  62. I can’t see a robot in the pic, but I’m sutr I see the image of Jesus. Then again maybe just a left over pizza

    ReplyDelete
  63. I suspect foul play.

    ReplyDelete
  64. not dead just need recharge

    ReplyDelete
  65. Robots dont live and can not die.....

    ReplyDelete
  66. Elon could drop $20B to go change the batteries

    ReplyDelete

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