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NASA’s InSight spacecraft to study the interior of Mars

May 23rd, 2016

What’s up with Mars recently?

More like what’s down with Mars – the next mission will study the deep interior of the planet.

Now targeting a launch window of May 2018, NASA’s InSight spacecraft will teach us about the formation and evolution of rocky planets, including Earth!

The spacecraft was originally scheduled to launch this year; however, the launch was scrubbed due to a vacuum leak in the prime science instrument – a seismometer.

The ground movements that it will measure will be as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom. In order to make such minuscule measurements, the instrument’s main sensors have to be in a vacuum
chamber.

A plan to redesign the instrument was proposed by InSight project managers, and it was accepted. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will perform the redesign, building and qualification of the new vacuum enclosure.

Instrument level integration and testing will be led by France’s space agency, Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). Together, NASA and CNES have developed a project schedule.

After the rework is completed, the result will be a complete vacuum around the sensors. It will be maintained through launch, landing on Mars, deployment, and a two-year prime mission.

The mission’s science team is comprised of researchers from many countries, with strong international partnerships led by the Principal Investigator at JPL, Bruce Banerdt.

There is a package on the lander from the German Aerospace Center (DLR). This probe will reach a depth of approximately 16 feet by hammering itself into the ground. It’s called the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package.

This is an artist’s’ concept of the lander with the seismometer and heat probe deployed. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

As a point of reference, in 2008, NASA chose to postpone the launch of the Curiosity rover. The incredible ongoing success of the Mars Science Laboratory was enabled, not hindered, by that decision to postpone launch.

InSight is managed by JPL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

To learn more about this exciting mission, check out NASA.gov.

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