‘My power is really low’: NASA set to lose contact with Mars InSight spacecraft after four years
This may be the last ever image sent from NASA’s Mars InSight spacecraft.
After a four-year mission on the red planet, the robotic lander – which famously snapped the first “selfie” ever taken on Mars – is powering down.
Thick windblown dust has covered InSight’s solar panels, with NASA expecting to lose contact with the probe soon.
The American space agency posted the news on the craft’s Twitter page, saying: “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.”
NASA announced the £630m InSight project 10 years ago as a follow-up to its successful Curiosity rover.
The InSight lander’s goal was to discover how Mars was formed, with the aim of giving scientists a better understanding of how rocky bodies like the Earth were created.
Before that, the spacecraft had to successfully make the 300 million-mile journey to Mars before enduring “seven minutes of terror” to descend to the surface.
Just 40% of missions to the red planet have safely made it through the thin atmosphere.
Pic: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
A combination of a heatshield, parachute and retrorockets helped slow InSight from 13,000mph to 5mph in just six minutes to allow it to land on the Elysium Planitia, a featureless plain just north of the location of the Curiosity rover.
Once it unfurled, the craft rammed a temperature probe five metres into the surface to measure the heat flowing from the planet’s core.
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Five months after landing, InSight’s quake monitor recorded a faint rumbling. NASA’s scientists concluded that it came from within the planet, dubbing it a “Marsquake”.
One of InSight’s chief accomplishments was establishing that the red planet is, indeed, seismically active, recording more than 1,300 marsquakes.
NASA’s robotic lander, InSight. Pic: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
The recording kicked off a new research field of “Martian seismology”, NASA said, which could help find out more about how rocky planets were formed.
It also measured seismic waves generated by meteorite impacts, revealed the thickness of the planet’s outer crust, the size and density of its inner core and the structure of the mantle that lies in between.
But there was also time for some fun. The craft famously snapped the first ever “selfie” taken on Mars, using a camera attached to its robotic arm to beam a photo all the way back to Earth.
InSight takes a ‘selfie’ on the surface of Mars using a camera on its robotic arm.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles will continue to listen for a signal from the lander, just in case.
But hearing from InSight again is unlikely, experts say.
The three-legged stationary probe last communicated with Earth on 15 December.
World
Major wildfire on Greek island of Chios leads to evacuations – as officials warn ‘situation remains critical’
Nearly 200 firefighters are battling a major wildfire on the Greek island of Chios.
The fire started on Sunday in three separate locations near the main town, which is also called Chios. The flames were fanned by strong winds and turned into one large blaze.
Local media footage and photos showed firefighters battling towering flames burning through woodland and farmland as night fell. Power cuts have also been reported.
Greek authorities sent fresh evacuation notifications for two areas near Chios town on Monday morning.
People watch a wildfire approaching. Pic: Politischios.gr /AP
Push alerts have been sent to mobile phones in the area urging people to evacuate a total of 16 villages, settlements and neighbourhoods on the outskirts of the town.
“The situation remains critical as firefighting forces are still dealing with many active fronts, several of which being near hamlets,” a Greek government spokesman said.
The fire department said 190 firefighters were trying to control the fire on Monday, with strong winds hampering their efforts.
Pic: Politischios/AP
Some 35 vehicles, five helicopters and two water-dropping planes were also involved in the effort.
A specialist fire department arson investigation team has been sent to the eastern Aegean island to look into the causes.
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Wildfires are common during Greece’s hot, dry summers but authorities have said climate change is fuelling bigger and more frequent blazes.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Last year, hundreds of tourists and residents were forced to flee wildfires on the holiday island of Kos.
In 2023, forest fires killed at least 20 people in the north of the country and forced 19,000 people to flee the island of Rhodes.
World
22 killed after suicide bomber opens fire at church in Syria – and then detonates explosive vest
At least 22 people have been killed after a suicide bomber opened fire at a church in Syria – and then detonated an explosive vest.
This is the first such incident since Bashar al Assad was toppled in December, and officials claim the attacker was a member of Islamic State.
It happened at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, with estimates suggesting that 350 worshippers were praying there at the time.
Pic: White Helmets via Reuters
Witnesses said the perpetrator had his face covered when he began shooting – and blew himself up as crowds attempted to remove him from the building.
A security source told Reuters that two men were involved in the attack, with a priest saying he saw a second gunman at the entrance.
Officials say 63 people were injured, and children were among the casualties.
Syria’s information minister, Hamza Mostafa, condemned the terrorist attack – writing on X: “This cowardly act goes against the civic values that bring us together.
“We will not back down from our commitment to equal citizenship… and we also affirm the state’s pledge to exert all its efforts to combat criminal organisations.”
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Pic: Reuters
Reports suggest that IS has attempted to attack several churches in Syria since Assad fell, but this is the first time they have succeeded.
Footage filmed by Syria’s civil defence, the White Helmets, showed scenes of destruction inside the church – including bloodied floors and shattered pews.
The Greek foreign ministry says it “unequivocally condemns the abhorrent terrorist suicide bombing”, and called on Syria “to guarantee the safety” of Christians with new measures.
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