NASA to resume InSight Lander's heat probe using new plan
NASA engineers have a new plan for pushing down on heat probe of the InSight Lander, which includes been stuck at the Martian surface for a year, according to a release of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) published on Friday.
The mission team plans to command the scoop on InSight's robotic arm to press down on the "mole," a mini pile driver designed to hammer itself up to 5 meters down.
They hope that pushing down on the mole's top could keep it from backing out of its hole on Mars, as it did twice lately after almost burying itself.
As part of the heat probe, the mole is a 40-centimeter-long spike equipped with an interior hammering mechanism. While burrowing in to the soil, it is made to drag with it a ribbon-like tether that extends from the spacecraft.
Temperature sensors are embedded along the tether to measure heat coming deep from within the planet's interior to reveal important scientific information regarding the forming of Mars and all rocky planets, including Earth.
The mole found itself stuck on Feb. 28, 2019, the first day of hammering. The InSight team has since determined that the soil here's not the same as what has been encountered on other parts of Mars. InSight landed within an area with an unusually thick duricrust, or a layer of cemented soil.
The mole needs friction from soil so that you can travel downward; without it, recoil from its self-hammering action causes it to simply bounce set up, according to JPL.
Throughout late February and early March, InSight's arm will be maneuvered into position to ensure that the team can test what goes on as the mole briefly hammers.
Meanwhile, the team can be considering using the scoop to go more soil into the hole that has formed around the mole. This may add more pressure and friction, and can finally dig down, according to JPL.
The InSight landed safely on Mars on Nov. 26 of 2018 for a two-year mission to explore the deep interior of the Red Planet.
Source: www.theindependentbd.com
