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That's why scientists have carefully chosen a flat, flat, flat area of the red planet called Elysium Planitia for NASA's InSight mission, to maximize the chances that everything is going well. The lander will arrive after a six-month cruise on November 26th.
"If Elysium Planitia was a salad, it would consist of romaine lettuce and kale – no salad dressing," said Bruce Banerdt, NASA's chief investigator for the InSight mission, in a statement. "If it was an ice cream, it would be vanilla." [Launch Photos: NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Blasts Off on Atlas V Rocket]
Landing on Mars is a challenge in the best conditions because it requires a meticulously choreographed insertion into the atmosphere, a heavy heat shield and an extremely resistant parachute. Then you have to touch the ground, that is to say that a flat terrain like that of Elysium Planitia becomes important, so that the spacecraft does not accidentally spill or is not caught in a crevbade.
Unlike Opportunity rovers and Curiosity, InSight will be stuck in the same place during its entire stay on Mars. He has no way of moving on the surface of the planet. This means that he must be able to carry out all his scientific research precisely where it arises.
In the case of the InSight lander, this science is focused on studying the interior of the planet rather than its surface. Among its instruments, there is a probe that burrows to 5 meters below the surface, which means that the team must find a landing site with stones that the probe could pierce.
"Choosing a good landing site on Mars is sort of like choosing a good home: it's about location, location, location," said Tom Hoffman, InSight's project leader of the Jet Propulsion Reaction Laboratory. NASA, in the same release. "And for the very first time, the badessment of a landing site on Mars had to take into account what was below the surface of Mars."
Of the 22 competitors in the running, the team eventually reduced it to Elysium Planitia, or rather to an oval 130 km long and 27 km wide in this plain. And while the postcard may not be the most breathtaking, the view is of little importance to the InSight team as much as to science.
"If you were a Martian who came to explore the interior of the Earth as we explore the interior of Mars, it would not matter if you were resting in the middle of Kansas or on the beaches of Oahu, "said Banerdt in his release. "While I look forward to seeing these first images of the surface, I am even more excited to see the first sets of data reveal what is happening deep within our landing areas. The beauty of this mission is happening under the surface. Elysium Planitia is perfect. "
Email Meghan Bartels at [email protected] or follow @meghanbartels. Follow us and Facebook. Original article on Space.com.
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