NASA has declared the Mars InSight lander digger dead after failing to burrow deep into the red planet to take its temperature. Scientists in Germany spent two years trying to get their heat probe, dubbed the mole, to drill into the Martian crust. But the 16 inch long (40 centimetre) device that is part of NASA's InSight lander couldn't gain enough friction in the red dirt.
It was supposed to bury 16 feet (5 metres) into Mars, but only drilled down a couple of feet (about a half metre). Following one last unsuccessful attempt to hammer itself down over the weekend with 500 strokes, the team called it quits on Thursday to connect with the lender.
The lander recently was granted a two-year extension for scientific work, now lasting until the end of 2022.
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