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Pasadena. Sensation: At 146 miles from Earth, the "InSight" probe landed on Mars on Monday at 9pm. After 7 months of flight, she entered the Martian atmosphere and sat on a plateau in the Elysium region. NASA's mission control at Pasadena led the complicated landing process. Several missiles and parachutes brought the probe to the ground. InSight will explore the inner structure of the red planet. With the ferry (small as a kitchen table) also landed the Austrian flag on Mars. The Austro-physicist Günter Kargl is part of the Mars research team.
"Landing confirmed!" said the US Space Agency's control center in Pasadena, California. Jubilation broke out, scientists got up from their seats and embraced each other.
Whether the robot is fully functional or not, it was 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.
Austro-physicist: "wants to measure the pulse of Mars"
Honor. Researcher Günter Kargl from the Graz Institute for Space Research (IMF) is part of the Mars team.
AUSTRIA: What should the probe investigate?
Günter Kargl: As soon as the landing gear lands, it sends the signal: "I did it". We evaluate the complex data packets that InSight will send in the future. It is necessary to look for what the inner life of Mars looks like. How hot is the core? We measure the pulse of the red planet, so to speak.
Greetings from NASA researchers
© NASA
After the "hit", a first Mars robot signal arrived at the NASA station. There was no one on the chairs anymore. "InSight" has already sent the first pictures of the surface. So the instruments work.
The first photo "InSight" of Mars
© NASA
Almost nothing is visible on the first photo of Mars. The lens is full of dust from the landing. The dust will be automatically cleaned by the lens. "InSight" sends the message "happy" – all instruments work normally.
Robot 360 kilograms
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, a kind of Martian mole, is supposed to pierce the ground. In total, the costly mission of around 650 million euros is designed for two years. The Graz Institute for Space Research (IMF) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences participates in the evaluation of the data.
The last Nasa 2012 brought the "Curiosity" rover successfully to Mars. Landings on the Red Planet are considered extremely difficult: according to NASA, only about 40% of previous global missions worldwide have been successful.
The United States is the only country that has managed to sell search robots on Mars.
Draw conclusions on the surface of Mars
First of all, the extraction of the "heat flow and physical properties package" (HP3) must be carried out by means of a special mechanism reminiscent of a hammer nail. With his help, you dive into the Martian soil. Subsequently, in December, it will be really interesting for IMF experts: they will draw conclusions on the mechanical properties of the Martian surface soil on the Martian soil based on the measurement data recorded during the penetration of the Martian surface. 39; device.
"We want to reach at least three meters of soil, the depth of the target would be five meters," Kargl told APA. To reach this depth, about 10,000 results are needed. The project will take about two months, "he said, adding that the IMF's contribution was to study the mechanical properties of the soil that can be deduced from the penetration of the mole HP3 into the Martian soil. University of Technology Graz and funded by the Austrian Agency for the Promotion of Research FFG.
In addition, manipulations of the surface with the blade of the instrument deployment arm are also performed in order to be able to determine other mechanical parameters of the regolith soil with an independent investigation, as was called by the IMF.
Mars is 146 million kilometers away
At present, Mars is about 146 million kilometers from Earth and terrestrial stations need about eight minutes to receive signals. "At" InSight ", two small satellites were sent for the first time, they fly behind the provincial probe and, so to speak, observe the immersion of" InSight "in the atmosphere and sequence of Next landing from the front row, without a foot, "Kargl said. As soon as the landing gear landed safely on the ground, it sends the signal "I did it".
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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