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NASA has examined the surface of Mars
with rovers and satellites, but gaining a fuller understanding of the
planet requires looking beneath the surface. That’s the goal of the
InSight mission, which was supposed to launch next year. However, a
problem with the main instrument has resulted in a delay that could end
up with the entire mission being scrubbed. This is a setback for Mars
research to be sure.
InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a stationary lander with the goal of analyzing the interior of Mars, which would be only the second planet examined in such a way after Earth. By learning more about the internal structure of mars, scientists can draw conclusions about the evolution of not only that planet, but perhaps all rocky planets.
To accomplish this, NASA equipped the lander with three main instrument packages. There’s the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3), and Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE). The SEIS instrument (seen below as a prototype) is the most important part of the mission, and sadly, that the cause of the delay as well. This sensor will be placed on the surface to monitor any seismic activity within Mars, everything from shifts in the crust to responses to meteorite impacts. For this incredibly sensitive seismometer to work, it needs to be vacuum sealed. Engineers have detected a broken seal on the SEIS package that will probably take a few months to fix.
InSight was originally scheduled for a March 2016 launch aboard an Atlas V rocket. NASA has scrubbed this launch as it does not expect to have the vacuum seal issue solved in time to prep the lander for its mission. We’re used to launches to the ISS being pushed back a few days or weeks, but sending a mission to Mars is vastly different. The orbits of Earth and Mars only align for an optimal launch every 26 months, and the window only lasts a few weeks. Missing the March launch basically means a two year delay for InSight.
NASA has already dropped $525 million of the $675 million allocated for the InSight mission, so putting the project on ice for two years could easily put it over budget. At that point, the mission itself might be in danger of cancellation. The agency expects to decide on the specifics in the coming months. If InSight doesn’t work out, NASA might be faced with troubling gaps in its knowledge as it plans a manned mission in the next few decades Future robotic missions might need to be retooled to add some of the experiments originally intended for InSight.
InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a stationary lander with the goal of analyzing the interior of Mars, which would be only the second planet examined in such a way after Earth. By learning more about the internal structure of mars, scientists can draw conclusions about the evolution of not only that planet, but perhaps all rocky planets.
To accomplish this, NASA equipped the lander with three main instrument packages. There’s the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3), and Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE). The SEIS instrument (seen below as a prototype) is the most important part of the mission, and sadly, that the cause of the delay as well. This sensor will be placed on the surface to monitor any seismic activity within Mars, everything from shifts in the crust to responses to meteorite impacts. For this incredibly sensitive seismometer to work, it needs to be vacuum sealed. Engineers have detected a broken seal on the SEIS package that will probably take a few months to fix.
InSight was originally scheduled for a March 2016 launch aboard an Atlas V rocket. NASA has scrubbed this launch as it does not expect to have the vacuum seal issue solved in time to prep the lander for its mission. We’re used to launches to the ISS being pushed back a few days or weeks, but sending a mission to Mars is vastly different. The orbits of Earth and Mars only align for an optimal launch every 26 months, and the window only lasts a few weeks. Missing the March launch basically means a two year delay for InSight.
NASA has already dropped $525 million of the $675 million allocated for the InSight mission, so putting the project on ice for two years could easily put it over budget. At that point, the mission itself might be in danger of cancellation. The agency expects to decide on the specifics in the coming months. If InSight doesn’t work out, NASA might be faced with troubling gaps in its knowledge as it plans a manned mission in the next few decades Future robotic missions might need to be retooled to add some of the experiments originally intended for InSight.
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