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NASA & # 39; s Insight Mars Lander must be delivered to the Red Planet on Monday, and to give scientists the first in-depth look at the internal martial.
The Lander
Insight (Inland Exploration using & # 39; Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat) Transport is based on the Phoenix Lander 2008, who himself used components issued by Provinces & # 39; Mars Surveyor 2001.
NASA proposes to tkellemx about too Surveyor, because the maneuver was used on the spacecraft after the unfortunate incident & # 39; Mars Polar Lander of & # 39; 1999, who discovered the book & # 39; another excellent copy of the NASA landing on the Martian surface.
Phoenix, however, was a huge success, and stationary Lander exceeded NASA expectations, surviving almost double the 90 SOLS planned Martian mission before they succeed in causing dust and cold b & # 39; that we believe fervently the Opportunity rover.
Adoption & # 39; & # 39 approach; "If not broken, do not create", the needle of the Jet Propulsion (JPL engineers) took the design of the Phoenix Land and adattawha for Insight. The landing & # 39; 360kg (as it is in the ground) has two solar panels, b & # 39; diameter each 2.2mu will get & # 39; anywhere between 0.8 and height 1.1m, according to both his legs compress with the landing.
B & # 39; Phoenix difference, NASA said Insight expects to survive nearly two Earth on the surface. The solar panels will provide 600-700W in & # 39; clear and 200-300W Martian day be covered with dust.
The power, which NASA has calculated enough runs mix of housing, will manage the three key instruments carried by the authority.
Science
The science payload & # 39; 50kg includes Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure (SEIS), the Heat Flow and Properties & # 39; Physical properties (HP³) and Experiment & # 39; Structure & # 39; Rotation and Interior (RISE).
The consignor is also equipped with a robotic arm will be used to put HP³ and RISE on the planet's surface. By placing the device in & # 39; direct contact with & # 39; Martian dirt, scientists expect to avoid the issues experienced by the area of Viking & # 39; 1970, where sismometri on landing vibrations emerged from the spacecraft itself rather than the planet.
HP³ also has some burrowing to do. Good deck of & # 39; artery.
The SEIS, provided by the National Center & # 39; Spatial Spatial (CNES) of & # 39; France, is an instrument b & # 39; & # 39 form, dome containing three pendulum will detect the seismic vibrations & # 39; Mars.
Scientists said the data returned by the instrument provides an overview of internal activity and structure of the planet. Investigators have their fingers crossed that the device will also detect liquid water passing across the surface and underground active volcanoes.
The heat probe, HP³, will make drill nearly five meters below the planet's surface after being deposited by the robotic arm & # 39; Insight. The purpose of & # 39; the instrument is to provide definitive measurements of the heat going out internal & # 39; Mars.
The probe will empty considerably deeper than 2 meters planned for the ExoMars Rover of & # 39; ESA (though & # 39; the latter is more mobile) and much more than that before they were -inħawi NASA, which mainly rolled surface.
According to the Principal Investigator for the instrument, Tilman Spohn, the device will say scientists if Mars and Earth form of the same "stuff", and give an idea on how evolved the rocky bodies in the solar system .
The final main instrument on the mission, RISE, will follow with & # 39; precisely the point of landing to determine whether the North Pole & # 39; Mars 'wobbles' as the Earth is in & # 39; hands sun. Scientists will use the data to determine the core size b & # 39; Mar much iron as well as what other elements may be present.
The device, mounted on the deck & # 39; landing, also gives an indication whether the core is liquid or solid.
Deep Space CubeSats
During the ride to Mars two relays & # 39; CubeSats communication, Marco A and B. The spacecraft was designed as luggage protesters, but since both have worked admirable road to the Planet Red as an independent flyers, relay & # 39; long-term communication for Insight since landing bed to the surface.
The radii of & # 39; size ball cricket in Marco can receive in UHF and both transmit and receive in the X band, so should be able to immediately transmit the data received back to World . The operator will broadcast information during the entry, descent and landing in the UHF band to Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter of NASA, who can not receive simultaneously in & # 39; one transmit f & # 39; Other . So without Marco, nervousness engineers on Earth could face more than an hour & # 39; waiting for news from Insight.
If the spacecraft diminutives prove themselves viable, the NASA boffins said that technology can & # 39; have applications in & # 39; other places in the solar system at least allows selecting & # 39; bring your communications relay during phases & # 39; critical touchdowns.
The landing schedule – striking the right tone
The fun begins today at 14: 40 EST, when the spacecraft separates from the cruise stage that led to Mars. A minute later, Insight will orient itself income before rolling into thin atmosphere of the red planet, from 14: 47 EST and travels at 12,300 mph.
Two minutes later, engineers anticipate heat protection & # 39; artillery enjoying will hit about 1,500 ° C, or the maximum heating. 15 seconds later, the spacecraft will experience maximum deceleration which, together with the heat, you & # 39; to make radio contact with a bit wobbly.
14: 51 EST the parachute will deploy, with the heat shield thrown seconds later. 14:52 ET will see the radar switched to detect the distance to the ground. Soon after, the retro-rockets landing will shoot and Insight will last 5 mph before constant touch & # 39; 14: 54 EST. Insight will send a tone back to Earth at 15:01 ET to indicate that it is safe & # 39; below.
The tone is important, and is one sequence that engineers on Earth will listen to Insight through each important stage of descent. While the tone itself does not carry much in the way of & # 39; information, they give clues about x & # 39; is happening. For example, when using the parachute, Insight will decrease, which in turn will change the frequency of the signal.
Two terrestrial radio telescopes, the Observatory Green Bank in West Virginia and the Max Planck Institute in & # 39; Hefflesberg, Germany, will be trained in & # 39; Mars in order to find the signs in question Marco with the experimental jilagħbux ball. Date & # 39; MRO would be transmitted to the world until around 18:00 ET, three hours after landing. Finally, the orbitatur of & # 39; 2001 of & # 39; Mars Odyssey of & # 39; long life sends his own record & # 39; the events & # 39; landing until 20:35 ET, including confirmation that the vital solar arrays were deployed.
However, if everything works the way the engineers hope, and Marco making their things, buttocks will be opened at 15:04 ET when the first images from the stern up landing on screens in the World .
The investment & # 39; in the United States & # 39; s Insight & # 39; is now & # 39; $ 813.8m, including $ 163.4m to actually launch the thing. France and Germany contributed about $ 180 million for the SEIS and HP³ respectively. And those CubeSats? A snip at & # 39; about $ 18.5m. ®
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