NASA finally bids goodbye to InSight Mars lander

Washington : The US space agency has finally retired InSight Mars lander after more than four years of collecting unique science on the Red Planet.
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 to conclude the spacecraft’s solar-powered batteries have run out of energy referred to as “dead bus”.
The agency said in a statement that it 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 on December 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, D.C.
“The seismic data alone from this Discovery Program mission offers tremendous insights not just into Mars but other rocky bodies, including Earth,” he added