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The first hours were crucial and, although they had successfully "landed" and sent the first photos home, it was only after the activation of solar panels that NASA scientists were able to rest .
The InSight probe has already reported that the solar panels are open and capture the sun on the surface, which is an essential step for the success of the mission which should last two years, ensuring that the mobile can recharge its batteries every day.
The Mars Odyssey orbiter sent back to Earth the signals received at 8:30 am EST (1:30 am in Portugal) and some images of the area where it was installed.
Tom Hoffman, a project manager for the mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., Said the team could now rest better tonight with the certainty that the solar panels were working. "The day was long for the team, but tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: the surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase."
The two InSight solar panels measure approximately 2.2 meters wide and, when open, give the structure a size similar to that of a car, but provide enough power for that the rover can work on Mars soil despite the sunlight. to be weaker than on Earth, because the planet is further away from the Sun. Even in this case, NASA explains that InSight does not need a lot of energy to operate and that the 600 to 700 watts it stores on a clear day (and which are equivalent what is needed for a drum machine similar to the one we have at home) can be used by instruments in operation.
In the coming days, the team will launch InSight's robotic arm and use the rover's camera to take more photos of the terrain. With this information, scientists will decide where to place the instruments that the probe was carrying. The instruments should be fully operational in two to three months and transmit information to NASA, but InSight will use its weather sensors to start taking measurements from where it sits in the plain of Elysium, his new home. on Mars.
InSight, or indoor exploration using seismic surveys, geodesy and heat transport, will attempt to detect fingerprints of planet formation processes, as well as measure the vital signs of the red planet, with the help of what his full name indicates: his "pulse", "temperature" and "reflexes" referred to NASA using analogies to prepare for his launch.
In a sort of "home visit" – as the scientists call it – the survey indicated that she had "ampared", it was about 10 minutes before 8 am in Lisbon. The first image to prove it came very soon after, at another time of celebration by the mission team.
Although she has gone beyond the various phases that have crossed the Martian atmosphere entrance, deceleration, parachute activation, the test of "legs" or the binding of radars up to That it touches the red planet, NASA can only confirm the success in a few hours, after that "InSight" shows that its instruments and itself are fully operational and ready to discover the secrets of the interior of Mars.
It will be NASA's first spacecraft to reach the red planet after the Curiosity rover. Scientists believe that InSight and its discoveries could prove to be one of the most relevant tools for preparing the first human mission on Mars.
Editorial note: The news has been updated with more information. Last updated 8h05
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