In 2018, NASA launched the InSight space probe with seismometers on board to Mars. They will measure the internal activity of the red planet and record tremors - "marsquakes."
The main scientific goals of the InSight mission on Mars are to study the tectonic activity of the planet, determine the size, composition and state of aggregation of its core, the thickness and structure of its mantle and crust, and study the frequency of meteorite incidence. The main question that worries scientists: why is Mars so similar to the Earth lost its atmosphere, water and magnetic field, and at the same time, the conditions for the origin of life.
According to Tilman Spohn, the supervisor of the German DLR group, this knowledge will help not only push the boundaries of man’s ideas about Mars but also learn more about the origin and evolution of the solar system, as well as about planet Earth itself.
The InSight probe is equipped with several instruments and cameras. The unique HP3 drill (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package - A set for studying heat flux and physical properties) was developed at the German Aviation and Space Center. With its help, the internal activity of Mars will be studied. The mole cable will be introduced to an unprecedented depth of five meters. Every ten centimetres, high-precision temperature sensors are installed in it. This will allow us to observe the dynamics of temperature changes in the thickness of the Martian soil and show how much heat comes from its inner layers. Thanks to HP3, researchers are hoping to understand whether Mars has formed in the same way as the Earth and other planets in the solar system. Another instrument - SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) is a seismometer of high-precision measurement of the tectonic activity of Mars. He will be involved in the study of the crust and mantle of the red planet, as well as in determining the frequency of incidence of large meteorites on Mars.
Also, SEIS will be able to detect vibrations caused by exposure to the natural satellites of Mars and dust storms. This device was created by a group of scientists from the French National Center for Space Research with the participation of the Paris Institute of Geophysics, the German Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Imperial College London and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Besides, the InSight mission will conduct a RISE (Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment) experiment on Mars. During it, the oscillations of Mars under the influence of the Sun will be recorded, and by measuring the Doppler shift and changes in the duration of a series of radio transmissions between the probe and the Earth, the internal structure of the planet will be determined. In addition to measuring instruments, the InSight probe is equipped with two cameras. The first is installed on the descent vehicle, used for black-and-white shooting of instruments onboard and creating three-dimensional images of the surface on which the HP3 drill and the SEIS seismometer will be installed. The second chamber is mounted on the bottom surface of the landing module. Its field of view is 120 degrees; it will receive colour images and provide an additional view of the devices.
InSight will land on the Elysian Highlands. When choosing a place for primarsianization, experts took into account safety: a relatively flat surface without large stones and with a slight slope was required. It is assumed that the device will work on Mars for about one "Martian year" - 700 sols, that is, about 720 "earth" days. Thus, the mission will end in November 2020.
During this time, up to thirty gigabytes of scientific information will be transmitted to Earth. The total value of the InSight mission was about $830 million. Interestingly, the InSight mission is also a community project. During its preparation, a special site was opened on the Internet where anyone could register their name free and send it in a special chip to Mars. About 2.5 million people from all over the world took part in the NASA rally, all of them received the symbolic “Mars Ticket”.
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