The Mars InSight lander, as previously discussed on this blog, was designed to investigate the geology and interior of Mars.

The HP3 instrument shortly after being placed on the surface by InSight’s robotic arm.

To do so, it carried an instrument known as HP3 (Heat and Physical Properties Package), which was designed to burrow into the surface and take temperature readings in order to better understand what was beneath the surface layer of Martian dirt. It will also flash with pulses of heat to understand how the soil absorbs heat, which gives a better understanding of the interior of Mars. Although it is designed to eventually burrow down 5 meters (16 feet), it’s currently only a few inches down, and partially still in its housing. The “mole,” the burrowing part of the instrument, has hit a snag just beneath the surface. After being placed on the surface and beginning to hammer down into the soil, the probe had to stop. After a second attempt at hammering yielded no further results, NASA stopped the process for further analysis. They were able to determine that it had hit a large rock or area of gravel and was lying at a 15-degree tilt. Although the probe is designed to break through rocks and other obstacles, NASA has decided to pause drilling for two weeks to conduct further analysis. Hopefully, drilling will resume soon and yield the much sought after scientific data.