Go Back
  • For Business
  • |
  • Warnings
  • Data Suite
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising
  • Superior Accuracy™
A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows. Chevron right
Recovery teams, displaced residents in Texas face brutal heat. Chevron right

Columbus, OH

71°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Columbus

Ohio

71°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Columbus, OH Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

For Business

Warnings

Data Suite

Newsletters

Advertising

Superior Accuracy™

Video

Winter Center

AccuWeather Early Hurricane Center Top Stories Trending Today Astronomy Heat Climate Health Recreation In Memoriam Case Studies Blogs & Webinars

News / Astronomy

NASA's InSight Mars lander to conduct science until it runs out of power

Scientists hoped the lander might be hit by a Martian dust devil to help extend the life of the Marsquake-detecting robot.

By Danielle Haynes, UPI

Published Jun 23, 2022 9:18 AM EDT | Updated Jun 23, 2022 10:24 AM EDT

Copied

Partner Content

UPI

June 22 (UPI) -- NASA's InSight Mars received a reprieve allowing it to conduct science for another several weeks before shutting down as it nears the end of its battery life.

The agency announced Tuesday that instead of automatically shutting down its last operational scientific instrument, the seismometer, at the end of June as planned, the device will continue operating until late August or early September.

Had it shut down the seismometer later this month, the InSight Mars lander would have been able to conserve energy and survive through December. Running the seismometer longer, though, will cause the lander to discharge its batteries and run out of power when the seismometer dies.

Doing so allows the seismometer several more weeks to detect possible marsquakes, NASA said.

NASA's InSight Mars Lander acquired this image using its robotic arm-mounted, Instrument Deployment Camera. NASA said Tuesday that InSight's seismometer will have enough power to operate another several weeks. (NASA)

"InSight hasn't finished teaching us about Mars yet," said Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington, D.C. "We're going to get every last bit of science we can before the lander concludes operations."

In order to allow InSight's seismometer to run for as long as possible, NASA is shutting down the lander's fault protection system, which, if operating, allows ground controllers to react to sudden, unexpected events on Mars.

"The goal is to get scientific data all the way to the point where InSight can't operate at all, rather than conserve energy and operate the lander with no science benefit," said Chuck Scott, InSight's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet.(Lockheed Martin Space)

NASA announced in May that it expected InSight to run out of power sometime this summer because dust had covered its solar panels. Scientists hoped the lander might be hit by a Martian dust devil, which could clear dust off the panels and possibly allow it to properly charge up.

Bruce Banerdt, the principal investigator for the InSight mission and a principal scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the possibility of this happening isn't likely, but it's not entirely out of the question.

InSight touched down on Mars' surface in 2018 with the primary goal of studying seismology, weather, soil and the planet's magnetic field. Since the beginning of its mission, it has detected more than 1,300 marsquakes.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Weather News

A week after deadly Texas flooding, hope fades but resilience grows

Jul. 10, 2025
Severe Weather

Rounds of severe storms to rattle, drench central US

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Abandoned cars submerged by severe flooding in North Carolina

Jul. 10, 2025
video

Before-and-after pictures show devastation caused by Texas floods

Jul. 9, 2025
Severe Weather

Severe weather to rumble in the central US through the holiday weekend

Jul. 6, 2025
Weather News

Record sargassum seaweed piles up on Caribbean islands, Gulf

Jul. 2, 2025
Weather News

Alabama teen in ICU after lightning strike hits boat, causing burns an...

Jul. 2, 2025
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

AccuWeather Early

Hurricane Center

Top Stories

Trending Today

Astronomy

Heat

Climate

Health

Recreation

In Memoriam

Case Studies

Blogs & Webinars

Top Stories

Weather Forecasts

Texas Hill Country recovery, cleanup teams to face brutal July weather

16 hours ago

Weather News

State inspection before floods found Camp Mystic had emergency plan

21 hours ago

Weather News

Deadly flash flooding devastates wildfire-scarred New Mexico town

9 hours ago

Astronomy

1st full moon of summer to rise Thursday night

1 day ago

Weather News

Most Texas flood victims face devastation without flood insurance

19 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Stories

Health

How can families handle new anxieties around summer camp?

15 hours ago

AccuWeather Ready

Floodwater rising in your house? Do this

2 days ago

Weather News

Orcas are bringing humans gifts of food – but why?

15 hours ago

Weather News

Earthquake swarm detected at Mount Rainier, biggest since 2009

20 hours ago

Weather News

The US has a plan to breed millions of flies and drop them from planes

15 hours ago

AccuWeather Astronomy NASA's InSight Mars lander to conduct science until it runs out of power
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs AccuWeather Connect RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™ Personal Weather Stations
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2025 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | About Your Privacy Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

...

...

...