One Big Step for Man And One Huge Step to Mars
By Gabriella Wilson
What’s that? The 1st picture InSight took of Mars
On November 28, 2018, InSight Lander, one of NASA’s spacecrafts that was commissioned to study and research Mars’ interior landed. InSight is planned to stay on Mars for almost two years (728 days) or in Mars time, one year and 40 sols (709 sols).
What’s that? The 1st picture InSight took of Mars
On November 28, 2018, InSight Lander, one of NASA’s spacecrafts that was commissioned to study and research Mars’ interior landed. InSight is planned to stay on Mars for almost two years (728 days) or in Mars time, one year and 40 sols (709 sols).
According to The New York Times, this accomplishment has opened a door to answers of questions that astronomers and scientists have tried to answer for years. Questions like “how thick is the crust of Mars? How often does the ground shake with marsquakes? How big is Mars’s molten core? How much heat is flowing up from the decay of radioactive elements at the core?”
Unlike NASA’s Opportunity and spirit rovers who studied Mars’ surface, InSight is a stationary probe in charge of studying the interior layers of the red planet
The landing spot for InSight that NASA chose on Mars was the Elysium Planitia, which is located near the equator because of its flat surface that makes it safe for scientists to research and investigate deep part of Mars based on what NASA said.
Now that Insight has landed on Mars it will be a while until InSight will be able to send data back to the lab, so in the meantime it can begin its operations on Mars’ inner layers by setting up equipment. There are three main instruments that InSight will use to research the structure of Mars’ interior - Measuring the Pulse of Mars (SIES), Taking Mars' Temperature (HP3), and Testing Mars' Reflexes (RISE).
Meet Insight, it’s really friendly!
Nine Planets says that “SEIS will measure seismic waves caused by marsquakes, meteorite strikes, and other phenomena. Watching how these waves travel through Mars’ interior will let scientists study how the planet’s crust, mantle, and core are layered. It will also reveal more about how all rocky bodies are formed, including Earth and its Moon.”
Based on what DLR says, HP3’s job is too find out the heat flow of Mars using the geothermal gradient, which is the increase in the temperature of the Mars from the surface downward and the thermal conductivity, which is the the measurement of how much electricity a specific material can make one. When multiplying these two values together we can determine the heat flow of Mars.
RISE “precisely tracks the location of the lander to determine just how much Mars' North Pole wobbles as it orbits the sun,” according to NASA MARS InSight Mission. Determine the movements of it’s northpole with help figure out what what Mars’ core consists of. For example Earth’s core is made up of nickel-iron alloy. Alloy meaning two metallic element being mixed together to make another metal. This will also tell us if it’s core is a liquid or some other texture.
As we continue studying the red planet we wonder to ourselves What will Mars teach us to add to our knowledge of space and what door will it open for us to enter.
Unlike NASA’s Opportunity and spirit rovers who studied Mars’ surface, InSight is a stationary probe in charge of studying the interior layers of the red planet
The landing spot for InSight that NASA chose on Mars was the Elysium Planitia, which is located near the equator because of its flat surface that makes it safe for scientists to research and investigate deep part of Mars based on what NASA said.
Now that Insight has landed on Mars it will be a while until InSight will be able to send data back to the lab, so in the meantime it can begin its operations on Mars’ inner layers by setting up equipment. There are three main instruments that InSight will use to research the structure of Mars’ interior - Measuring the Pulse of Mars (SIES), Taking Mars' Temperature (HP3), and Testing Mars' Reflexes (RISE).
Meet Insight, it’s really friendly!
Nine Planets says that “SEIS will measure seismic waves caused by marsquakes, meteorite strikes, and other phenomena. Watching how these waves travel through Mars’ interior will let scientists study how the planet’s crust, mantle, and core are layered. It will also reveal more about how all rocky bodies are formed, including Earth and its Moon.”
Based on what DLR says, HP3’s job is too find out the heat flow of Mars using the geothermal gradient, which is the increase in the temperature of the Mars from the surface downward and the thermal conductivity, which is the the measurement of how much electricity a specific material can make one. When multiplying these two values together we can determine the heat flow of Mars.
RISE “precisely tracks the location of the lander to determine just how much Mars' North Pole wobbles as it orbits the sun,” according to NASA MARS InSight Mission. Determine the movements of it’s northpole with help figure out what what Mars’ core consists of. For example Earth’s core is made up of nickel-iron alloy. Alloy meaning two metallic element being mixed together to make another metal. This will also tell us if it’s core is a liquid or some other texture.
As we continue studying the red planet we wonder to ourselves What will Mars teach us to add to our knowledge of space and what door will it open for us to enter.
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