The InSight robot sent by NASA to Mars was officially retired at the end of last December after losing contact. The lander sent a farewell message via Twitter which made netizens sad.
On December 20, 2022, the NASA InSight Twitter account uploaded a tweet containing the last photo sent by the InSight robot. Along with the photo, the NASA team also provided a caption containing a moving farewell speech.
"My energy is very weak, so this will probably be the last photo I can send," wrote the tweet of the NASA InSight account on Twitter, as quoted from The Guardian, Wednesday (11/1/2023).
"But don't worry about me: my time here has been very productive and peaceful. If I can continue to speak with my mission team, I will speak -- but I will sign off immediately. Thank you for staying with me," he continued.
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. pic.twitter.com/wkYKww15kQ
— NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) December 19, 2022
The NASA InSight tweet immediately received various responses from netizens. Most of them expressed their sadness at the loss while paying their last respects.
"I'm not crying over a robot, you're crying over a robot," said Twitter user @banditelli.
"You will never be forgotten. Thank you for your service, great little lander," said Twitter user @jackqueen_ followed by three respectful emojis.
"One day, we'll take you home, and keep you warm forever," said @erdalgumus08.
I'M GONNA MISS YOU LITTLE BUDDY :`( pic.twitter.com/Pll1u9iyPc
— Taite (@SighTaitor) December 21, 2022
Get me on the next rocket to Mars rn ILL CHARGE THE MF MYSELF pic.twitter.com/S5hU0ryIdK
— 𓆩♡𓆪 (@_Lalli_pop_) December 22, 2022
Godspeed lil guy 🧡 pic.twitter.com/jVe9aYtPne
— Space By Storm (@SpaceByStorm) December 20, 2022
NOOOOO PLEASE SOMEONE SEND A BATTERY. NASA SEND ME ILL REPLACE THE BATTERY I DONT CARE pic.twitter.com/HenOnlc772
— lil uzi stan (@lcdlia) December 20, 2022
NASA announced the end of the InSight mission after conducting various scientific experiments on Mars for the past four years. Before being asked about retirement, NASA had tried to contact InSight twice but did not get an answer so it was concluded that the battery had run out.
The InSight mission was first launched in May 2018 and arrived on Mars in November 2018. This mission was planned to work for two years to examine the interior layer of Mars, but the mission was extended twice by NASA.
InSight is a lander vehicle, so it cannot move like the Perseverance or Curiosity rover. The robot is equipped with solar panels to recharge its batteries, but extreme dust storms on Mars block sunlight and cover the solar panels with thick dust.