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NASA designed to break into the interior of Mars on the planet on Monday after a perilous and supersonic dive across its red sky, causing jubilation among scientists who had been waiting in the air. waiting for a white eye, that the confirmation reaches them on 100 million kilometers of space.
The flight controllers of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
"The touchdown confirmed!", Launched a flight controller, evoking a celebration that was a total reversal of the worrying anguish that gripped the control room as the spacecraft made its six-minute descent .
A few minutes later, the confirmation was transmitted by a pair of tiny satellites that followed InSight throughout their journey of 482 million kilometers traveled in six months.
The two experimental satellites not only relayed the good news almost in real time, but also returned the first snapshot of the planet by InSight just 4 minutes after landing. The photo was dotted with debris as the dust cover was still visible on the LG camera, but the terrain seemed smooth and sandy and only showed one important rock, just about by what scientists had hoped. Better photos are expected in the next days.
The first photo of InSight using his robotic arm [19659008] It was NASA – in fact, that of humanity – Eighth successful landing on Mars since the 1976 Viking probes and the first in six years: the NASA Curiosity rover, arrived in 2012, is still moving on Mars.
"Flawless," said Rob Manning, chief engineer of JPL. "That's what we really hoped and imagined in our minds," he added. "Sometimes things work in your favor."
By the time the touchdown hit space, shortly after 3 pm, InSight was already well established on the west side of Elysium Planitia, the flat plain that NASA was seeking.
Many spacecraft destined for Mars, launched by the United States, Russia and other space countries, have been lost or destroyed over the years, with a success rate of only 40%, not counting InSight.
NASA opted this time for a simple and direct approach, using a parachute
The flight controllers were relieved to learn quickly that Insight had managed to rise to the surface and not burn in the atmosphere or bounce off it.
Museums, planetariums and libraries across the United States have organized screenings to follow the events at the JPL.
The $ 1 billion international mission includes a German-led mechanical mole that will dig a depth of 16 feet to measure the internal heat of the planet. Nothing has ever dug deeper into Mars than several inches.
The lander also has a seismometer of French manufacture
Another experiment will calculate the oscillation of Mars to reveal the composition of the planet's nucleus.
The 360 kilogram InSight is stationary with three arms and will work in the same place for the next two years, a Martian year. His first job was to get a quick picture. The next task was the deployment of its solar panels. NASA wanted to wait 16 minutes for the dust to settle before attempting this.
Senior scientist, Bruce Banerdt, warned that he would be acting on a slow motion mission. Instruments
"It really depends on the benevolence of Mars, the number of earthquakes that he sends us," Banerdt said Sunday. "The more marsquakes there are, the better." We love it, and the more it moves, the better we see inside. "
According to Banerdt, Mars' well-preserved interior provides insight into what the Earth might have looked like after its formation 4.5 billion years ago. While Earth is seismic, Mars "decided to rest on its laurels" after its formation, he said.
By examining and mapping the interior of Mars, scientists hope to understand why the rocky planets of our solar system have proved so different and why Earth has become a refuge for life.
Still, there are no life sensors onboard InSight. This will be part of NASA's next mission, the March 2020 Rover, which will roam in search of rocks that may contain traces of ancient life.
The question of whether life ever existed in the wet, wet past of Mars is what prevents NASA from bringing NASA back to the fourth stone of the sun.
The international mission, with a budget of $ 1 billion, includes a mechanical mole led by the German who will dig a depth of 16 feet to measure the internal heat of the planet. The LG also has a French-made seismometer to measure earthquakes, if they exist on Mars
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