Artist rendering from NASA of the InSight lander just after touchdown on the surface in Elysium Planitia.
Yesterday, at around noon pacific time, the martian InSight probe touched down on the surface of the red planet. InSight, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport. After launching on May 5th and cruising through space for over six months, the spacecraft made a successful touchdown on the 26th of November. It will spend the next few weeks deploying its science instruments, chiefly the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3), the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), and Temperature and Winds for InSight (TWINS). SEIS is a seismometer that will be placed on the surface by the robotic arm present on the lander. Insulated against the wind by shielding, it will provide accurate data on “marsquakes” that will help scientists understand any tremors on Mars. Mars doesn’t have active tectonics, so it’s assumed that any shaking would be the result of a cooling and shrinking interior. HP3 is a burrowing heat probe that will also be placed on the surface. It’s different in that it will burrow down 6 meters into the soil so that it can take accurate heat measurements, leading to better understanding of the interior of Mars. RISE will use the X-band antenna on-board to build accurate models of InSight’s exact location. By studying the wobble of Mars’s spin, we can estimate the size of the core to a much greater accuracy. TWINS is simply an atmospheric and weather probe designed to make measurements from the surface.
“First light” image from one of InSight’s cameras. This image is the second one beamed back from the plains of Mars.
After landing on the surface, InSight took some pictures to confirm touchdown and began health checks to verify full spacecraft operational capacity and integrity. Pictured here is the first light image from one of it’s cameras. Over the next few months, instrument deployment will begin, allowing the science to finally start. From it’s spot on Elysium Planitia, a flat plain that allows for easy landing, InSight will perform its duties faithfully for the next two years.
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The title is the best, “Doesn’t Explode”.
You stole my idea but did better. How dare you. Good article though