InSight captures rays on Mars: NASA

WASHINGTON: After the successful launch on Monday of NASA's InSight camera on Earth, the probe sent signals to Earth that its solar panels are open and capture sunlight on the surface of Mars.

NASA Mars Odyssey probe, currently orbiting the red planet, relayed the signals. He was received on Earth around 17:30. PST (8:30 pm EST), announced the US Space Agency in a statement.

The deployment of solar panels allows the probe to recharge its batteries every day. Odyssey also transmitted a pair of images showing the landing site of InSight.

"The InSight team can rest a little better tonight now that we know that the spacecraft's solar panels are deployed and are recharging the batteries," said Tom Hoffman, InSight Project Manager at the Nasa Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

"It's been a long day for the team, but tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: the ground operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase," added Hoffman.

On Monday, a NASA inland exploration lander using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport (InSight) landed on the red planet after a nearly seven-month ground trip to the planet. spread over 458 million kilometers (458 million kilometers).

InSight was launched on May 5th from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The lander landed Monday, near the equator of Mars, on the west side of a smooth, smooth lava pond called Elysium Planitia, with a signal saying landing sequence at around 12:00 pm (ETH). ;Is).

The mission of the spacecraft, which will last two years, will be to study the deep interior of Mars and to understand how all celestial bodies with rocky surfaces, including the Earth and the Moon, are formed. announced NASA.

The InSight double solar panels each measure 2.2 meters wide when they are open, and the entire undercarriage is about the size of a large convertible 1960s. The sunlight of Mars is weaker than that of the Earth because it is much farther away from the Sun.

But the undercarriage has little need to work: the panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day, enough to power a household mixer and enough for his instruments to carry out scientific research on the red planet. Even when the dust covers the panels – which is likely to be common on Mars – they should be able to provide at least 200 to 300 watts.

"We are powered by solar energy, so it is extremely difficult to commission generators, with these generators providing the energy needed to launch state-of-the-art scientific operations. we are well on our way to thoroughly investigating what is inside of Mars the very first time, "said Hoffman.

The panels are modeled on those used with the NASA Phoenix Mars Lander, although those of InSight are slightly larger in order to provide more power and increase their structural strength. These changes were necessary to support operations for a full year on Mars (two Earth years).

In the coming days, the mission team will detach InSight's robotic arm and will use the attached camera to take pictures of the ground so that engineers can choose the location. scientific instruments of the probe. NASA said it would take two to three months before these instruments are fully deployed and return data.

Meanwhile, InSight will use its weather sensors and magnetometer to take readings from its landing site at Elysium Planitia, its new home on Mars.

With the successful launch of InSight on the planet Mars on Monday, NASA managed to gently land a vehicle on the red planet eight times, the statement said.

"Today, we have successfully landed on Mars for the eighth time in the history of humanity," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

"InSight will study the interior of Mars and teach us a valuable science to prepare us to send astronauts to the moon, then to Mars.This feat represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners and demonstrates the dedication and perseverance of our team, the best of NASA is yet to come and will be soon, "he added.

InSight will start collecting scientific data during the first week after landing, but the teams will focus primarily on getting ready to install the InSight instruments on Martian soil. At least two days after touchdown, the engineering team will begin deploying the robotic arm of InSight (1.8 m long) in order to take pictures of the landscape.

InSight will operate on the surface for one Martian year, plus 40 Martian days, or soils, until November 24, 2020. The mission objectives of the two small MarCOs that relayed the InSight telemetry were completed. after flying over the planet Martian.