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After a journey of about 485 million kilometers, the robot, launched in May, landed on the plain of Elysium Planitia north of the equator of Mars on the Red Planet, NASA announced . That the robot is fully functional is not yet clear. After entering the Martian atmosphere, the robot was lowered into a very complicated maneuver with the help of rockets and a parachute.
The robot "InSight" of 360 kilos can not roll but stays in the same place. With many scientific instruments, the robot will study Mars and especially learn more about the structure of the planet and the dynamics on its surface. A device developed in Germany, called "Marsmaulwurf" by researchers, is supposed to penetrate the soil. It is officially known as "HP3" ("Heat Flux and Physical Properties"). In total, the costly mission of around 650 million euros is designed for two years.
First landing for six years
More recently, NASA successfully launched the Rover "Curiosity" on Mars in 2012. Landings on the Red Planet are considered extremely difficult: according to NASA, only about 40% of the world's previously launched global missions have been crowned of success. The United States is the only country that has managed to sell search robots on Mars.
The InSight landing site (inland exploration using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport) is located in a largely flat area devoid of rocks and stones. bigger ones. As soon as the undercarriage is safe, searching for the proper locations for the imported counters begins. A robotic arm will raise it to the optimal position.
Austrian participation
Through a combination of specialized instruments, InSight can hear the depths of the surface of Mars. Among others, the "pulse" (seismic), the "fever curve" (planetary heat flux) and the "reflexes" (rotational fluctuations) of the planet are examined, explained Günther Kargl of the Institute of Spatial Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), The IMF in Graz is responsible for the evaluation of some of the scientific data collected during the mission.
"We want to reach at least three meters of soil, the depth of the target being five meters," said Kargl. To reach this depth, about 10,000 hits of "HP3" are needed. "It will take about two months," he said. The contribution of the IMF is to study the mechanical properties of the soil, which can be deduced from the behavior of penetration of the "mole" in the Martian soil. IWF 's participation has also benefited from the technical support of the Institute of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering of the Graz University of Technology and funded by the I & F. Austrian Agency for the Promotion of Research (FFG).
Radio signals on a long journey
At present, Mars is about 146 million kilometers from Earth and terrestrial stations need about eight minutes to receive signals. "In 'InSight', two small satellites were sent for the first time, flying over the provincial spacecraft and observing, so to speak, the 'InSight' front-line diving. the atmosphere and the following landing sequence, "said Kargl.
Since the provincial probe can not communicate directly with the Earth, the existing space probes in orbit must act as relay stations. However, because of their web geometry, the transfer may be delayed. At the time of landing, the space probes "Mars Renaissance" and "2001 Mars Orbiter" should be used.
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