NASA finally has a plan to try to release the extremely secure probe from InSight

Scientists have finally determined the first steps to dislodge the thermal probe blocked by the lander Mars InSight.

NASA has successfully planted the InSight lander on Mars at the end of last year, with great fanfare. One of the major objectives of the mission was to bury a thermal probe 10 or 15 feet below the Martian surface to study the interior of the planet, but after only about a foot, the probe could not no longer strike; at first it looked like a big boulder blocked the way, but the team suspects something in the ground is stopping the probe. It has been stuck since February (there is no way to wind it up and try in a new location, unfortunately). The team tried to find out what to do next.

Scientists who exploit the InSight lander hope to study the geology of Mars, its movement and vibration, as well as the heat that flows beneath its surface. From the beginning, the InSight team knew that it would be difficult to place the HP3 probe (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package). The excavation component of the tool is attached to the support structure by a cable filled with sensor; it's basically a very long thermometer. It digs into the ground via a mechanism that looks more like a hammer than a drill.

Although we initially reported the rocks could be at the origin of the stall, the scientists now think that the quality of the soil differs from the initial expectations. According to a Jet Propulsion Lab release, the soil does not generate enough friction for the probe to dig deeper.

InSight scientists will begin by lifting the support structure using the robotic arm of the landing gear to get a better view of the exercise. This will also allow them to test their first solution: press the ground to increase the friction felt by the drill. According to NASA, the drill can not be removed from the ground. If the problem is really soil quality, moving the drill will not fix anything anyway. The robotic arm lift will begin later this month.

What took so long? The scientists wanted to make sure that their decision would not make things worse for the probe.

InSight still has two other experiments, the Seismic Experience for Interior Structure (SEIS) that rests on the ground next to the LG and the Rotational Experience and Interior Structure (RISE), which rests on it . But snags are frustrating, especially when your multi-year experience is on another planet, far too far to be corrected by hand.