NASA shares picture of Martian sunrise clicked by InSight rover

NASA has recently shared an interesting image of a Martian sunrise captured on the planet by the space agency’s InSight rover.

About InSight rover:

• InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), is a Mars lander which is the first robotic explorer to study the crust, mantle and core of Mars.
• The InSight rover has two primary science objectives:
• to understand the formation and evolution of the terrestrial planet by investigating the interior structure and processes of Mars and
• to determine the present level of tectonic activity and meteorite impact rate on the planet
• Apart from helping learn how Mars was formed, understanding its patterns will also help prepare for human exploration of the planet.
• It uses its instruments to dig deep beneath the surface of the red planet and seek the ‘fingerprints’ of the process that formed the planet.
• To do this, it measures the planet’s “vital signs”: seismology, heat flow and precision tracking.

Other similar missions on mars:

• The InSight rover is not NASA’s only robotic helper on the planet: both the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity mars helicopter are also on the planet, making observations and collecting data.
• Both are part of the American space agency’s 2020 Mars Exploration Program and landed on Mars in February, 2021.
  • The Perseverance rover’s main task is to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (soil) for a possible return to earth.
  • Ingenuity is a small robotic solar-powered helicopter that is a technological demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars. It rode to Mars attached to the Perseverance rover.