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Seven & # 39; & # 39 years; work, seven & # 39; & # 39 months; travel in space and nearly seven & # 39; & # 39 minutes; "Terror": the American probe Insight is finally ready bounded Monday surface & # 39; Mars a maneuver & # 39; very risky landing.
And NASA engineers to follow the operation of the World could not do anything but share their fingers & # 39;: from the entrance to the Martian atmosphere -with their rispettivi- Storms to their feet touch with rocks, everything was programmed hours in advance.
Even humane signal that will indicate what Insight is safe and sound on the Martian surface would take eight minutes to reach the center of mission control, situated in & # 39; Pansadena, California.
"With Mars nothing is never assured. Mars is difficult ", assembled Sunday Thomas Zurbuchen, of – scientific section chief – NASA, Which approved the mission & # 39; nearly 1,000 million dollars to study the heart of the red planet.
It is the first time since 2012 that the attempt & # 39; art is going about Mars, after the vehicle – & # 39; of Curiosity – NASA, The only one currently active on the surface of the red planet.
Over bullet
Insight will enter the atmosphere & # 39; Mars 19: 47 GMT, b & # 39; oblique way to avoid flying in & # 39; pieces.
Only rub the atmosphere causing the temperature rapidly increased to 1,500 ° C, But the probe is prepared with enhanced heat protection to tolerate impact.
The probe then will move to about 20,000 kph, Between three and four & # 39; times faster than a bullet & # 39; rifle, and aims to achieve a rectangular area & # 39; about 10 km b & # 39; 24 km. Having started from a point on Earth, 480 million kilometers & # 39; away, "is like 130,000 kilometers scored view & # 39; away," says NASA.
Four & # 39; minutes and one hundred kilometers & # 39; away, parachute opened automatically, and slows b & # 39; brutal way landing. Then, once assembled the heat protection, the device opens the parachute three feet and leave.
"We will waste a b & # 39; anything short time, something that is absolutely terrifying to think of me," said Tom Hoffman, chief Insight project for NASA.
The probe will quickly gripping his 12 retrookett that will lower to about 8 km / h descent of the device, then weigh no more than 365 kg.
19: 55 GMT, nearly seven & # 39; minutes after his first contact & # 39; atmosphere, Insight has finally "made".
Magma and temperature
During that time, baptized as "six and a half minutes of & # 39; terror" by some, nothing and no one could & # 39; Insight attend his career to correct or remedy the damage.
"I am completely relaxed, but at the same time completely nervous", said Hoffman.
"We have done everything possible to ensure the success of the mission, but it'll never work & # 39; can & # 39; happens", explained, acknowledged that failed and sleeps very well lately.
The engineer and his colleagues, including many European scientists who contributed the most advanced instruments on board traveling Insight, must wait until 20: 00 GMT to receive the first signal sent from the probe. Only you & # 39; assured that it is intact and well stabilized in its three feet.
Insight will use later, slowly, the solar panels that will illuminate your instruments. From now & # 39; forward, very busy work program jistennak.
He must hear & # 39; and scrutinize the interior & # 39; Mars to try to spread the mysteries of its formation, billions & # 39; years ago. Knowledge can & # 39; later allow better understand the formation of the Earth, the only planet rock from which its interior really been studied.
Information AFP
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