Mars Insight Lander Hits a Snag

[bison]

The Insight lander on Mars is bent on boring into the Red Planet to study its heat flow. Unfortunately, it struck something hard at a depth of only 18 centimeters, presumably rocks. That sounds about like my back garden!

The plan now is to let Insight rest for a bit, then try again. The hammering action of Insight's borer is supposed to break through rocks of reasonable size, so perseverance may yet further. They hope to eventually reach a depth of nearly five meters. 

Below, please find a link to an article with more particulars:

https://www.philly.com/science/nasa-mars-lander-insight-digging-drilling-stones-20190302.html

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by bison

[tmcom]

Probably hit a Coke can.

[bison]

It seems that Insight finally got past the first rock at 18 centimeters, but then found another at about 50. Instead of a couple of days pause for equipment cooling and temperature measurements, as planned, they now want to to wait about two weeks, while they consider the situation, and how to proceed. That second rock must have caused them a good deal of trouble.

Below, please find a link to an article with further information. 

https://www.universetoday.com/141679/insights-rock-hammer-is-about-half-a-meter-down-and-has-already-run-into-rocks/  

[bison]

NASA has worked out a plan to determine what went wrong with the Insight Lander's heat-measuring instrument, which was intended to eventually penetrate up 5 meters below the Martian surface. It became stuck at only about 10 percent of its goal. They suspect one of three things happened. 

1.) The heat probe struck a rock it has not been able to dislodge with its hammering action.

2.) An unexpected layer of gravel was encountered, stopping its progress.

3.) The mechanism on board the lander that pays out the cable behind the heat probe is jammed.

They will try brief, 15-minute-long sessions of hammering, while scrutinizing the cable mechanism with the onboard camera. They will also  listen with its seismograph to see if this can reveal the nature of any obstruction.

Please find an article linked below, with further details on the Insight Lander's current predicament:

https://www.cnet.com/news/nasa-hatches-plan-to-solve-mars-insight-mole-mystery/

    

[tmcom]

3 hours ago, bison said:

NASA has worked out a plan to determine what went wrong with the Insight Lander's heat-measuring instrument, which was intended to eventually penetrate up 5 meters below the Martian surface. It became stuck at only about 10 percent of its goal. They suspect one of three things happened. 

  

I don't know what the big deal is, if they dig up a martian worm, they will then proceed to tell the world that they found a curious rock that resembles a worm, and the next day a martian worm that looks like a rock that moves!

Which can be easily explained away as strong winds,....ok, not that one, rain,....no,...um,.....on a hill, an earthquake, asteriod hit closeby, Harry Potter was in the general area, that will do.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Mars InSight's 'Mole' Is Moving Again

Quote

NASA's InSight spacecraft has used its robotic arm to help its heat probe, known as "the mole," dig nearly 2 centimeters (3/4 of an inch) over the past week. While modest, the movement is significant: Designed to dig as much as 16 feet (5 meters) underground to gauge the heat escaping from the planet's interior, the mole has only managed to partially bury itself since it started hammering in February 2019.

The recent movement is the result of a new strategy, arrived at after extensive testing on Earth, which found that unexpectedly strong soil is holding up the mole's progress. The mole needs friction from surrounding soil in order to move: Without it, recoil from its self-hammering action will cause it to simply bounce in place. Pressing the scoop on InSight's robotic arm against the mole, a new technique called "pinning," appears to provide the probe with the friction it needs to continue digging.

Read More: NASA

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA's Mars InSight Lander to Push on Top of the 'Mole'

Quote

After nearly a year of trying to dig into the Martian surface, the heat probe belonging to NASA's InSight lander is about to get a push. The mission team plans to command the scoop on InSight's robotic arm to press down on the "mole," the mini pile driver designed to hammer itself as much as 16 feet (5 meters) down. They hope that pushing down on the mole's top, also called the back cap, will keep it from backing out of its hole on Mars, as it did twice in recent months after nearly burying itself.

Read More: NASA