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This is the first space probe to explore the heart of Mars. And it is expected to land on the red planet Monday at 19:53 GMT.
The Mission InSight has instruments to drill the surface of the planet to a depth never reached and measure its movements. Seismic of the red planet.
InSight, a NASA project with the participation of European partners, will be the first mission to place seismographs on Martian soil .
The probe departed for Mars on May 5, and the landing of this Monday – if it occurs as expected – will be a spectacular feat .
Landing on Mars is so difficult that about two-thirds of the attempts failed.
Why is it so hard to land on Mars?
The six-foot-long, 700-kilogram probe is to land in a flat area called Elyseum Planitia ] that NASA describes as "the most parking space on Mars." [19659003] To get to the right place, InSight must enter the Martian atmosphere inside a window of only 24 km by 10 km.
The entry into the atmosphere and the descent to the surface require a great maneuver. complex
The probe will penetrate the Martian atmosphere at a speed six times higher than that of a bullet at high speed and must decrease it considerably, explained Jonathan Amos scientific correspondent of the BBC.
A recent European attempt, in 2016, ended with a probe that crashed to the surface.
InSight will enter the Martian atmosphere at 19,800 km / h and you should reduce your speed to just 8 km per hour. This extreme deceleration must take place in just under seven minutes .
One of the difficulties is that the atmosphere of Mars has barely 1% of the density of the Earth's atmosphere. there is little friction to reduce the speed of the ship.
NASA hopes to succeed in combining its tools: a heat-resistant capsule, a parachute and a retro-rocket to slow down the probe.
The US Space Agency He explained that by entering the Martian atmosphere, the capsule had to withstand a temperature close to 1500 degrees Celsius.
"We have made every effort to land successfully," Julie Wertz Chen one of the mission's scientists, stated.
"But it is really very difficult to land on another planet."
"We do not dare to say that we will get there easily, because you never know what surprises Mars can give you."
Martian Earthquakes
InSight will do an X-ray first Detailed of the interior of Mars and will remain on the red planet for 728 days. a Martian year or two terrestrial years.
The name of the probe is an acronym for Inland Exploration using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport (Inland Exploration with Seismic Surveys, Geodesy and Heat Transport).
The seismometers of the ship, a British and a French, will attempt to capture the Martian earthquakes produced by tectonic movements or meteorites.
And the study of seismic vibration will study the internal rock layers of Mars, the
"An earthquake, it's almost like the flash of a lamp ", explained the chief scientist of the mission, Bruce Banerdt .
"It illuminates the interior of the planet with seismic waves And the seismometer is like a camera that collects these waves to compose an image We reconstruct pixel by pixel a 3D representation of the Inside the planet. "
Another instrument will enter the Martian soil at a depth of five meters to measure the amount of heat that escapes from the inside of the planet.
The probe also carries a device developed by Spanish scientists, Twins, which will measure wind speed and temperature, as well as an instrument for measuring changes in the planet's rotation.
Mars and the Earth
"Scientists know the structure of the Earth's inner well and have models to explain the beginnings of the solar system, 4,500 million years ago," Jonathan Amos Scientific correspondent of the BBC, who will accompany the landing from the surveillance center the operation, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, JPL for its acronym, California
