Will NASA announce the end of the InSight Mars Lander mission next week?
Resolved
YES
NASA's InSight mission is a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of Mars with a variety of tools. It was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and most of its scientific instruments were built by European agencies. The mission launched on 5 May 2018 and successfully landed at Elysium Planitia on Mars on 26 November 2018. As of January 2021, InSight is approved for extended operations through December 2022.
Yesterday (https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9185/nasas-insight-records-monster-quake-on-mars/), the seismometer picked up the largest quake measured to date on the planet, the largest ever detected on another planet. However, due to dust accumulation on its solar panels, InSight’s electrical power production is dropping, and the mission is unlikely to continue operations for the duration of its current extended mission. Today (https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9188/nasa-to-provide-update-on-insight-mars-lander/) NASA scheduled a teleconference at 2 p.m. EDT (11 a.m. PDT) on Tuesday, May 17, to provide an update on the agency’s InSight Mars lander.
This market resolves YES if NASA announces an intent to step away from the InSight mission or divert significant resources elsewhere. This market resolves NO if NASA announces significant new work or mission extension beyond 2022, or if NASA's intent is not clear or no new information is revealed.