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Sedentary science allows InSight to detect geophysical signals below the Martian surface
You do not need wheels to explore Mars. After landing in November, NASA's InSight satellite will deploy its solar panels, deploy a robotic arm … and stay put. Unlike space agency rovers, InSight is a lander designed to study an entire planet from one place. (Image of NASA)
(NASA) – You do not need wheels to explore Mars. After landing in November, NASA's InSight satellite will deploy its solar panels, deploy a robotic arm … and stay put. Unlike space agency rovers, InSight is a lander designed to study an entire planet from one place.
This sedentary science allows InSight to detect geophysical signals below the Martian surface, including earthquakes and heat. Scientists will also be able to follow the radio signals from the immobile spaceship, which vary according to the oscillation of the rotation of Mars. Understanding this flicker could help solve the mystery of whether the planet's core is solid.
Here are five things to know about how InSight conducts its science:
1.InSight can measure earthquakes anywhere on the planet
Earthquakes are usually detected using seismometer networks. InSight has only one – SEIS (Seismic Experience for Interior Structures) -. His scientific team will therefore use creative measurements to analyze seismic waves as they occur anywhere on the planet.
SEIS will measure marsquake seismic waves and meteorite impacts as they move through Mars. The speed of these waves changes according to the material traversed, which allows scientists to deduce what the interior of the planet is composed of.
Seismic waves come in a surprising number of flavors. Some vibrate on the surface of a planet, others ricochet from its center. They also move at different speeds. Seismologists can use each type as a tool to triangulate where and when a seismic event has occurred.
This means that InSight could have landed anywhere on Mars and, without moving, bring together the same kind of science.
InSight has two X-band antennas on its turntable that make up a third instrument, called RISE (Rotation Experience and Interior Structure). (Image of NASA)
2The InSight Seismometer Needs Peace and Calm
Seismometers are sensitive by nature. They must be isolated from "noise" in order to accurately measure seismic waves.
SEIS is sensitive enough to detect vibrations less than the width of a hydrogen atom. This will be the first seismometer ever installed on the Martian surface, where it will be a thousand times more accurate than the seismometers installed at the top of the Viking landers.
To take advantage of this exquisite sensitivity, engineers equipped SEIS with a shell: a shield against the wind and heat that the InSight arm will place on the seismometer.
This protective dome leans when the wind blows it; a mylar skirt and mesh stitches prevents the wind from entering the garment. It also offers SEIS a comfortable place to protect against the severe temperature changes in Mars, which can create minimal changes to the springs and electronic components of the instrument.
The InSight team chose a location on the equator of Mars called Elysium Planitia – as flat and boring as Mars. This aids the landing a bit because there is less risk of collision, fewer pebbles and lots of sun to propel the spacecraft. (Image of NASA)
3InSight has a self-hammering nail
Have you ever tried hammering a nail? Then you know that it is essential to maintain it. InSight carries a nail that must also be maintained.
This unique instrument, called HP3 (Together heat flow and physical properties), holds a point attached to a long fastener. A mechanism inside the tip will hammer it up to 5 meters underground by pulling on the clip, which is integrated with heat sensors.
At this depth, it can detect the heat trapped inside Mars since the formation of the planet. This heat shaped the surface with volcanoes, mountain ranges and valleys. It may have even been possible to determine where the rivers flowed early in the history of Mars.
4InSight can land in a safe place
Because InSight needs calm – and because it can collect seismic and thermal data from anywhere on the planet – the spacecraft is free to land in the air. the safest location possible.
The InSight team chose a location on Mars' equator, Elysium Planitia – as flat and boring as Mars's. This aids the landing a bit because there is less risk of collision, fewer pebbles and lots of sun to propel the spacecraft. The fact that InSight does not consume a lot of energy and should have a lot of sunlight at the equator of Mars, it means that it can provide a lot of data to scientists.
The fact that InSight does not consume a lot of energy and should have a lot of sunlight at the equator of Mars, it means that it can provide a lot of data to scientists. (Image of NASA)
5InSight can measure the oscillation of Mars
InSight has two X-band antennas on its turntable that make up a third instrument, called RISE (Rotation Experience and Interior Structure).
Adio signals from RISE will be measured over months or years to study the tiny "flicker" of the planet's rotation. This flicker indicates whether the core of Mars is liquid or solid – a feature that could also illuminate the thin magnetic field of the planet.
The collection of detailed data on this oscillation has not taken place since the March Pathfinder's three-month mission in 1997 (although the Mobile Opportunity made a few measurements in 2011 while it was still, waiting for the 'winter). Whenever a stationary spacecraft sends out Mars radio signals, it can help scientists improve their measurements.
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