The landing on Mars Really go with Your Work Schedule

The time zones are always delicate – but the differences interplanetarju time are even more difficult to keep track & # 39 ;, and now sender Insight Mars NASA managed to land on the Planet red, this is precisely what members of the mission staff should do.

The Martian day is different too long from terrestrial day – is only about 37 minutes longer. But over time, all those minutes add up to offset & # 39; Martian day, called a sol, of Earthly schedules.

And that pain for people who manage the Martian robots like Insight Lander – people such as systems engineering & # 39; Alibay Farah load. The Insight team is small enough that members do not fit into changes like humans after Curiosity Rover; instead, working as one group, told Space.com in Alibay & # 39; video interview. [NASA’s InSight Mars Lander: Full Coverage]

The people in the team and have to work during the Martian night, while the spacecraft is not working. So they signed yesterday at 3 p.m. local time at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of & # 39; & # 39 at NASA, California (6 p.m. EST, 2300 GMT) for a change & # 39; 12 hours, Alibay said earlier dropped Insight. But if you always follow the time & # 39; Martian, their schedule will move 37 minutes from day to day, it is hard for people to handle.

"Making that change every day is so hard for human bodies", said Alibay. So the members of the team operated compromise. "When the planets align and be able to work during the night & # 39; daytime and our Martian, then work every day, and then when it does not work, we work every other day. And there are many analyzes of science to be made on the land between those days still single, so the work does. "

The mission calendar will go in & # 39; suns, with landings in 26 & # 39; November marked Sol 0 (the science mission & # 39; Insight is scheduled to last 709 total SOLS, or almost two years terrestrial.) So, for Alibay and her colleagues, journals earth, errands and family schedules while working with & # 39; the state & # 39; the Insight, relief is not stuck on the time & # 39; Mars for all those 709.

The managing editor of & # 39; Space.com in Tariq Malik contributed reporting for this article. Email Meghan Bartels on [email protected] or issegwiha @meghanbartels. Follow us @ Spacedotcom and Facebook. Original article on Space.com.