Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Thursday 3 May 2018
NASA sending robotic geologist to Mars to dig super deep

By MARCIA DUNN all stationary three-legged
AP Aerospace Writer landers; no roaming
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. around. InSight stands for
(AP) — Six years after last "Interior Exploration using
landing on Mars, NASA is Seismic Investigations, Ge-
sending a robotic geologist odesy and Heat Transport."
to dig deeper than ever InSight's science objectives,
before to take the planet's however, are reminiscent
temperature. of NASA's Apollo program.
The Mars InSight space- Back in the late 1960s and
craft, set to launch this early 1970s, the Apollo
weekend, will also take moonwalkers drilled up to
the planet's pulse by mak- 8 feet (2.5 meters) into the
ing the first measurements lunar surface so scientists
of "marsquakes." And to back home could mea-
check its reflexes, scientists sure the underground flow
will track the wobbly rota- of lunar heat. The moon still
tion of Mars on its axis to holds seismometers left be-
better understand the size hind by the 12 moonmen.
and makeup of its core. Previous Mars missions
The lander's instruments have focused on surface or
will allow scientists "to stare close-to-the-surface rocks
down deep into the plan- and mineral. Phoenix, for
et," said the mission's chief instance, dug just several
scientist, Bruce Banerdt of inches down for samples.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Labo- The Martian atmosphere
ratory. and magnetic field also
"Beauty's not just skin deep This illustration made available by NASA in 2018 shows the InSight lander drilling into Mars. have been examined in
here," he said. Associated Press detail over the decades.
The $1 billion U.S.-European "But we have never probed
mission is the first dedicat- red planet on Nov. 26. about 40 percent. The U.S. day. But you never know," sort of beneath the out-
ed to studying the innards These Mars-bound cubes is the only country to have said NASA project manag- ermost skin of the planet,"
of Mars. By probing Mars' in- are nicknamed WALL-E successfully landed and er Tom Hoffman. said Banerdt.
sides, scientists hope to bet- and EVE after the animat- operated spacecraft on Once on the surface, In- The landing site, Elysium
ter understand how the red ed movie characters. That's Mars. The 1976 Vikings were Sight will take interplane- Planitia, is a flat equatorial
planet — any rocky planet, because they're equipped the first landing successes. tary excavation to a "whole region with few big rocks
including our own— formed with the same type of pro- The most recent was the new level," according to that could damage the
4.5 billion years ago. pulsion used in fire extin- 2012 Curiosity rover. NASA's science mission di- spacecraft on touchdown
Mars is smaller and geo- guishers to expel foam. In InSight will use the same rector Thomas Zurbuchen. or block the mechanical
logically less active than the 2008 movie, WALL-E type of straightforward A slender cylindrical probe mole's drilling. Banerdt jok-
its neighbor Earth, where used a fire extinguisher to parachute deployment dubbed the mole is de- ingly calls it "the biggest
plate tectonics and other propel through space. and engine firings during signed to tunnel nearly parking lot on Mars."
processes have obscured InSight is scheduled to descent as Phoenix lander 16 feet (5 meters) into the Scientists are shooting for
our planet's original make- rocket away from central did in 2008. No bouncy air Martian soil. A quake-mea- two years of work — that's
up. As a result, Mars has California's Vandenberg Air bags like the Spirit and Op- suring seismometer, mean- two years by Earth stan-
retained the "fingerprints" Force Base early Saturday. portunity rovers in 2004. No while, will be removed dards, or the equivalent of
of early evolution, said Ba- It will be NASA's first inter- sky crane drop like Curios- from the lander by a me- one full Martian year.
nerdt. planetary mission launched ity. chanical arm and placed "Mars is still a pretty myste-
In another first for the mis- from somewhere other Landing on Mars with a directly on the surface for rious planet," Banerdt said.
sion, a pair of briefcase-size than Florida's Cape Ca- spacecraft that's not much better vibration monitor- "Even with all the studying
satellites will launch aboard naveral. Californians along bigger than a couple of of- ing. InSight is actually two that we've done, it could
InSight, break free after lift- the coast down to Baja will fice desks is "a hugely dif- years late flying because of throw us a curveball."
off, then follow the space- have front-row seats for the ficult task, and every time problems with the French- Health & Science Depart-
craft for six months all the pre-dawn flight. we do it, we're on pins and supplied seismometer sys- ment receives support from
way to Mars. They won't No matter the launching needles," Banerdt said. tem that had to be fixed. the Howard Hughes Medi-
stop at Mars, just fly past. point, getting to Mars is It will take seven minutes for The 1,530-pound (694-ki- cal Institute's Department
The point is to test the two hard. the spacecraft's entry, de- logram) InSight builds on of Science Education. The
CubeSats as a potential The success rate, count- scent and landing. the design of the Phoenix AP is solely responsible for
communication link with In- ing orbiters and landers by "Hopefully, we won't get lander and, before that, all content.q
Sight as it descends to the NASA and others, is only any surprises on our landing the Viking landers. They're