The NASA InSight team is again trying to help the operation of the thermal probe

Scientists and engineers have come up with a new plan to have the NASA InSight LG thermal probe dig back to Mars, according to the latest version of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The thermal probe, also called "taupe", is designed to dig below the Martian surface and measure the heat coming from inside the red planet.

As part of the thermal probe, the mole is a self-hammering tip that digs up to five meters below the surface and records the temperature of Mars.

The mole has not been able to dig more than 30 cm under the Martian surface since February 28, 2019.

In recent months, scientists have conducted tests and analyzes to understand what was preventing the mole from digging.

They believe that the most likely cause is an unexpected lack of friction in the soil around InSight – something very different from the soil seen in other parts of Mars. Without enough friction, the mole will bounce back, according to JPL.

The support structure of the device prevents the LG cameras from watching the mole. The team therefore plans to use InSight's robotic arm to lift the structure. Depending on what they see, the team can use the InSight robotic arm to help the mole later this summer.

"The engineers worked hard to evaluate the problem," said Lori Glaze, NASA's Global Science Division Director. "Moving the support structure will help them collect more information and try at least one possible solution."

The lifting sequence will begin at the end of June, the arm grasping the support structure. During a week, the arm will lift the structure in three stages, taking pictures and sending them back so that the engineers can make sure that the mole is not removed from the ground while traveling. the structure, according to JPL.

InSight safely landed on Mars last November 26, for a two-year mission to explore the depths of the Red Planet.

The thermal probe is one of three instruments brought by InSight on Mars. The other two are the Seismic Experiment Instrument for Inner Structures for Recording Earthquakes and the Rotational and Experimental Instrument on Interior Structures for the Collection of Preliminary Data on the Core of the Planet.

(Top Image: The support structure of the heat flux and physical properties instrument is slightly displaced during the pounding, as indicated by the circular "fingerprints" around the pads. instrument / Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech)