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"A small step for the man, a big one for the man …". Fifty years after the historic sentence of astronaut Neil Armstrong and the first time man entered the moon, humanity has accomplished another feat. Pbad a living image of the planet Mars and land the spaceship Insight. This is the first time that humanity will be in live connection with the red planet. This is the first time everyone, thanks to online technology, will be able to see a real picture of a planet, perhaps the next human colony in space.
Its purpose is to map the interior of the planet as well as its seismic activity.
This is the first landing of NASA from 2012 (it was then the Curiosity robotic vehicle).
At 22:00 Greek time landing
After an interplanetary voyage of nearly seven months, the American space company InSight landed on Mars after successfully crossing the atmosphere of the red planet, confirmed NASA from its center in Pasadena, California.
Instead, InSight sent his first photo of the surface of the red planet.
"The investigation has been confirmed!", Announced the officials. NASA engineers and scientists began to applaud and exclaim with joy.
The first photo sent by Insight from the surface of the "red planet":
Watch the live video of NASA at the time of landing:
For scientists, the current mission is particularly important because it is the first time that a laboratory of robotic geology studies the interior, the composition and more particularly the tectonic activity not only of the red planet, but also of any other planet beyond the Earth.
After 484 million kilometers at a speed of 19,800 km / h, the InSight system (Exploring insects using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport) will reduce speed to just eight kilometers per hour jog) and will attempt a soft landing on the planet.
The entire landing process will take less than seven grueling minutes, NASA engineers calling them "the six and a half minutes of horror", during which time they can not do anything about it. other than praying for proper planning of the movements of the robotic vessel. and that it will not be unexpected.
If everything happens urgently, the spacecraft will open its solar panels for food, its batteries can only last a day Martian, and a robotic arm.
Confirmation of the success of this process will come with a few hours late with the Mars Odyssey and MRO satellites orbiting Mars and flying over the landing point twice a day. Only then will NASA confirm the success of the mission.
Characteristics of the Space Geology Laboratory
The "InSight", which measures about one meter and weighs 358 kilos, is a tripod static geophysical detector rather than moving like the rovers that already exist on the red planet.
His journey into space began since May 5th. Its final destination is a huge flat area of Mars, called "Elysium Planitia", 130 km long and 27 km wide, also known as "the largest parking on Mars".
From a stationary position, "InSight" will begin mapping the "heart" of the red planet after about three months, a necessary period to test and commission its scientific instruments.
The latest data from NASA show that sandstorms raging on the planet for months are now calmed and the landing zone is calm.
Landing is never easy on the red planet, where up to now, nearly two out of three missions have failed. The most recent failure was the European Space Agency, in 2016, while the ship "Siaparaleli" was crashed as a result of a technical error.
InSight is equipped with:
– a capsule resistant to high temperatures up to 1500 degrees Celsius developed during the rupture of the Mars atmosphere by friction,
– a parachute that will open at a height of 12 km from the surface. as well as
– with small rockets mounted at a height of 1,200 meters to brake and guide the cathode smoothly.
The cost of the mission is $ 1 billion, and nearly 20% of them are getting their hands dirty.
Most of InSight was built by US satellite Lockheed Martin Space. However, its sensors and seismograph, which will detect vibrations and seismic waves, are British and French.
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