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Цитировать CNES ‏@CNES  (https://twitter.com/CNES)  1 ч.1 час назад (https://twitter.com/CNES/status/771716759715971074)  
C'est confirmé : @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) partira écouter le cœur de #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash) en mai 2018 http://bit.ly/2bK61Ol  (https://t.co/U9EsiAhxpZ)
 

ЦитироватьNASA Approves 2018 Launch of Mars InSight Mission
2 Sep 2016
(Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
(http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/images.cfm?ImageID=8502)
NASA has set a new launch opportunity, beginning May 5, 2018, for the InSight mission to Mars. InSight is the first mission dedicated to investigating the deep interior of Mars. The findings will advance understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved. This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars after the lander's robotic arm has deployed a seismometer and a heat probe directly onto the ground. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA is moving forward with a spring 2018 launch of its InSight mission to study the deep interior of Mars, following final approval this week by the agency's Science Mission Directorate.
The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission was originally scheduled to launch in March of this year, but NASA suspended launch preparations in December (http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/newsdisplay.cfm?Subsite_News_ID=38476) due to a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS).
The new launch period for the mission begins May 5, 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018. The next launch opportunity is driven by orbital dynamics, so 2018 is the soonest the lander can be on its way.   
"Our robotic scientific explorers such as InSight are paving the way toward an ambitious journey to send humans to the Red Planet," said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in Washington. "It's gratifying that we are moving forward with this important mission to help us better understand the origins of Mars and all the rocky planets, including Earth."
The SEIS instrument -- designed to measure ground movements as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom -- requires a perfect vacuum seal around its three main sensors in order to withstand harsh conditions on the Red Planet. Under what's known as the mission "replan," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will be responsible for redesigning, developing and qualifying the instrument's evacuated container and the electrical feedthroughs that failed previously. France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), will focus on developing and delivering the key sensors for SEIS, integration of the sensors into the container, and the final integration of the instrument onto the spacecraft.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is contributing the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) to InSight's science payload.
NASA's budget for InSight was $675 million. The instrument redesign and two-year delay add $153.8 million. The additional cost will not delay or cancel any current missions, though there may be fewer opportunities for new missions in future years, from fiscal years 2017-2020.
InSight's primary goal (http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/overview.cfm) is to help us understand how rocky planets formed and evolved. Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said, "We've concluded that a replanned InSight mission for launch in 2018 is the best approach to fulfill these long-sought, high-priority science objectives."
CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall added, "This confirmation of the launch plan for InSight is excellent news and an unparalleled opportunity to learn more about the internal structure of the Red Planet, which is currently of major interest to the international science community."
The InSight Project is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

ЦитироватьInSight delay adds $150 million to mission's cost
by Jeff Foust (http://spacenews.com/author/jeff-foust/) — September 2, 2016

Delaying the launch of NASA's InSight Mars lander and fixing a troublesome instrument will cost the agency more than $150 million, to be taken from future planetary missions. Credit: NASA  
 
WASHINGTON — NASA announced Sept. 2 that it has approved plans to launch a delayed Mars lander mission in 2018, although at an additional cost that could affect plans for later planetary missions.
The InSight Mars lander, originally scheduled for launch in March, will now launch no earlier than May 5, 2018, after NASA's Science Mission Directorate formally approved the revised mission plan this week. That launch will allow a landing on Mars in November 2018.
NASA postponed the launch in December 2015 after a series of problems with one of its primary instruments, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), provided by the French space agency CNES. The instrument suffered a series of vacuum leaks that NASA concluded could not be fixed in time to permit a launch during a window that lasted about a month.
Under the new mission plan, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will take the lead in redesigning the chamber that contains SEIS. That chamber must maintain a very strong vacuum to measure seismic vibrations as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom. CNES will focus on the instrument's sensors and the final integration of the instrument on the spacecraft.
The redesign of SEIS, and other aspects of the mission's two-year delay, will add $153.8 million to InSight's original cost of $675 million. That cost is in line with previous estimates by project management earlier this year, who predicted the delay would cost roughly $150 million.
That additional money will come from plans for later missions. NASA said in its Sept. 2 statement that while no current missions would be affected, "there may be fewer opportunities for new missions in future years, from fiscal years 2017–2020."
David Schurr, deputy director of NASA's planetary science division, said Sept. 2 the additional cost is not covered by project reserves already applied to the mission. "The plan is for planetary science to cover these costs over the next four years," he said.
One area that could be affected is NASA's Discovery program of low-cost planet science missions. NASA selected five proposals for study last year, and has suggested it might choose two of them for development when it makes a final selection late this year. The additional costs of an InSight delay have worried some in the planetary science committee that NASA might be able to afford only one mission.
Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, has long advocated selecting two missions in the ongoing Discovery competition. "I'm going to do everything humanly possible to make it difficult for the selection official not to pick two," he said at a July 25 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council's science committee in Cleveland.
He added, though, that this choice will depend on the estimated costs of the missions included in their updated studies and the available budget. "My approach is to look at the budget, see what we can support and then fill that budget within our selection opportunity," he said.

ЦитироватьНАСА одобрило повторный запуск миссии InSight на Марс в 2018 году
11:28 05.09.2016

МОСКВА, 5 сен – РИА Новости. НАСА официально одобрило планы по повторному запуску посадочного модуля InSight, который отправится к Марсу в мае 2018 года, если французским инженерам удастся изготовить замену поврежденному прибору SEIS в срок, сообщает (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6612) Лаборатория реактивного движения НАСА.
"Подтверждение того, что НАСА планирует отправить InSight в космос, является отличной новостью для нас и уникальной возможностью больше узнать о секретах недр Марса, что сегодня является одной из главных задач для всего сообщества планетологов в целом", — заявил Жан-Ив Ле-Голль (Jean-Yves Le Gall), президент Национального центра космических исследований Франции (CNES).
В конце ноября прошлого года на форумах любителей космонавтики и в соцсетях стали распространяться слухи о том, что американский аппарат InSight может не полететь на Марс из-за неполадок в работе одного из двух ключевых научных инструментов посадочного модуля – сейсмометра SEIS, изготовленного французскими инженерами и учеными по заказу CNES.
В первых числах декабря стало известно, что эти неполадки являются критическими и что инженеры НАСА и CNES не успеют исправить их до отправки зонда к Марсу, который был запланирован на март 2016 года. Через несколько недель НАСА выступило с официальным заявлением, в котором менеджеры агентства признались в разгерметизации сейсмометра и в переносе миссии на "неопределенный срок".
В начале марта этого года НАСА заявило, что запуск InSight, скорее всего, будет перенесен на май 2018 года, однако 100% подтверждения этого плана не было – руководство НАСА не было уверено в том, сможет ли оно найти новую ракету-носитель для посадочного модуля, и насколько проект выйдет за рамки бюджета. Сейчас все эти проблемы решены, и космическое агентство официально одобрило продолжение миссии.
Май 2018 года в данном случае является "жесткой" датой запуска – даже если французские инженеры и ученые создадут новую версию SEIS раньше срока, InSight не отправится на Марс раньше означенного времени из-за того, что запас топлива в ракете рассчитан на оптимальную траекторию полета к Красной планете.
Если же они не успеют изготовить замену, то миссия будет опять задержана или вообще отменена. Лаборатория реактивного движения, где разрабатывается InSight, уже предложила свою помощь французским разработчикам и пообещала помочь защитить прибор от разгерметизации.

Цитироватьhttps://twitter.com/bevvscott/status/912864069366964224
Bev Scott‏ @bevvscott (https://twitter.com/bevvscott)  2 ч2 часа назад (https://twitter.com/bevvscott/status/912864069366964224)
Update on InSight mission: spacecraft assembly completed, now preparing for thermal vacuum tests. Launch on May 5, 2018 from VAFB. #IAC2017 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/IAC2017?src=hash)

ЦитироватьПосадочный модуль InSight прошел ключевой этап подготовки к отправке на Марс

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin
ВАШИНГТОН, 23 ноября. /Корр. ТАСС Дмитрий Кирсанов/. Американский посадочный модуль InSight успешно прошел важнейшую фазу подготовки к отправке на Марс. Об этом сообщила в среду в среду корреспонденту ТАСС официальный представитель корпорации Lockheed Martin, создавшей данный космический аппарат, Дэни Хауф.
Как она уточнила, специалисты Национального управления США по аэронавтике и исследованию космического пространства (NASA) и компании Lockheed Martin завершили этап тепловых испытаний модуля в вакууме. Таким образом, "команда Lockheed Martin успешно закончила фазу тестирования [аппарата] на воздействие внешних условий, сходных с эксплуатационными", отметила Хауф. По ее словам, в предстоящие месяцы "будет завершаться подготовка к запуску" модуля InSight, намеченного на май будущего года.
Как пояснила представитель Lockheed Martin, пройден этап "наиболее всеобъемлющих испытаний, которым можно подвергнуть полностью собранный космический аппарат до запуска". В ходе них были подтверждены технические характеристики модуля "в жестких условиях, схожих с открытым космосом", подчеркнула Хауф. Нынешние испытания проходили на объекте компании Lockheed Martin в Литтлтоне (штат Колорадо). А до этого проверялось, в частности, раскрытие солнечных батарей модуля и устойчивость его аппаратуры к электромагнитному воздействию.
Ответственный за тестирование и запуск модуля в компании Lockheed Martin Скотт Дэниелс заявил интернет-изданию Space.com (https://www.space.com/), что тепловые испытания в вакууме продолжались почти две недели. Предполагается, что на базу ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния), с которой аппарат должны вывести в космос, InSight доставят в конце февраля, сказал Дэниелс. 30-дневное "окно" для старта ракеты-носителя Atlas V, которой предстоит отправить модуль в примерно полугодовое путешествие к Красной планете, откроется 5 мая. Намечается, что посадку аппарат произведет 26 ноября 2018 года, после чего проработает на Марсе 728 земных дня.
За счет использования научных приборов, установленных на модуле, NASA рассчитывает получить новую информацию о формировании Марса. Аппарат, к примеру, должен помочь определить размер, состав и состояние ядра Красной планеты, проанализировать толщину коры, выяснить, какова структура мантии. Планируется, что инструменты модуля позволят осуществить бурение на глубину 5 м для получения интересующих ученых данных. Первоначально отправка аппарата должна была состояться в конце 2015 года, но ее перенесли из-за обнаруженной существенной технической неполадки

Цитировать Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 17 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/933500855881527296)

ARTICLE: Mars InSight mission passes TVAC testing ahead of 2018 launch - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/11/mars-insight-passes-tvac-testing-2018-launch/ ... (https://t.co/r3gJmQkcOp)

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Цитировать

Mars InSight mission passes TVAC testing ahead of 2018 launch (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/11/mars-insight-passes-tvac-testing-2018-launch/)

November 22, 2017 by Chris Bergin

ЦитироватьNASA's next mission to Mars passed a key test Tuesday, extending the solar arrays that will power the InSight spacecraft once it lands on the Red Planet this November.

The test took place at Lockheed Martin Space just outside of Denver, where InSight was built and has been undergoing testing ahead of its launch. The mission is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

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"This is the last time we will see the spacecraft in landed configuration before it arrives at the Red Planet," said Scott Daniels, Lockheed Martin InSight Assembly, Test and Launch Operations (ATLO) Manager. "There are still many steps we have to take before launch, but this is a critical milestone before shipping to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California." The InSight launch window opens in May.

The fan-like solar panels are specially designed for Mars' weak sunlight, caused by the planet's distance from the Sun and its dusty, thin atmosphere. The panels will power InSight for at least one Martian year (two Earth years) for the first mission dedicated to studying Mars' deep interior. InSight's full name is Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

"Think of InSight as Mars' first health checkup in more than 4.5 billion years," said Bruce Banerdt of JPL, the mission's principal investigator. "We'll study its pulse by 'listening' for marsquakes with a seismometer. We'll take its temperature with a heat probe. And we'll check its reflexes with a radio experiment."

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In addition to the solar panel test, engineers added a final touch: a microchip inscribed with more than 1.6 million names submitted by the public. It joins a chip containing almost 827,000 names that was glued to the top of InSight back in 2015, adding up to a total of about 2.4 million names going to Mars. "It's a fun way for the public to feel personally invested in the mission," Banerdt said. "We're happy to have them along for the ride."

The chips were inscribed at JPL's Microdevices Laboratory, which has added names and images to a number of spacecraft, including the Mars Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. Each character on the InSight microchips is just 400 nanometers wide. Compare that to a human hair, 100,000 nanometers wide, or a red blood cell, 8,000 nanometers wide.

ЦитироватьNASA's Mars InSight Lander: Solar Array Deployment Test (Time Lapse)

   (https://www.youtube.com/user/JPLnews) NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 24 янв. 2018 г.

While in its landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018, in a Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. This time lapse video of the deployment is courtesy Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

ЦитироватьNASA's InSight spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California to begin final preparations for a launch this May. The spacecraft was shipped from Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, today and arrived at Vandenberg at 3:49 p.m. PST (6:49 p.m. EST). The launch period for InSight opens May 5 and continues through June 8. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring the planet's heat output. It will also be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from the West Coast.

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"The Air Force C-17 crew from the 21st Airlift Squadron gave us a great ride," said Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Next time InSight travels as high and as fast, it will be about 23 seconds into its launch, on the way to Mars."

At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg, InSight will soon be removed from its shipping container -- the first of several remaining milestones to prepare it for launch. Later next week, the spacecraft will begin functional testing to verify its state of health after the flight from Colorado. After that, the team will load updated flight software and perform a series of mission readiness tests. These tests involve the entire spacecraft flight system, the associated science instruments and the ground data system.

"One of the most important activities before launch is to load the spacecraft with the fuel needed for the journey to Mars," said Hoffman. "After fuel loading, the spacecraft will undergo a spin-balance test to determine precisely the center of mass. This knowledge is needed to be sure the entry and descent into the Mars atmosphere goes as planned."

InSight will be carried into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V-401 rocket lifting off from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base. For a May 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 6:05 a.m. PDT (9:05 a.m. EDT).

InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to map the deep interior of Mars. These waves travel through geologic materials at different speeds and reflect off boundaries, giving scientists a glimpse of the composition and structure of the planet's interior. They reflect the initial formation of the planet, and the resulting insights into how Mars formed will help us better understand how other rocky planets are created, including our own Earth.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. A number of European partners, includingFrance's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission.

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ЦитироватьMay 5Atlas 5 • InSight
Launch window: 1105-1305 GMT (7:05-9:05 a.m. EDT; 4:05-6:05 a.m. PDT)
Launch site: SLC-3E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
 8)

Цитировать (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow)Spaceflight Now (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow)@SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow)·9 ч
 (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/969782431317446656)
NASA's InSight Mars lander arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this week after a journey from a Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado. The robotic mission is set blast off May 5 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.  :!:  InSight's launch window May 5 opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT) and extends for two hours. The mission has until June 8 to launch and reach Mars for an automated landing Nov. 26.

Цитировать (https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin)Lockheed Martin (https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin)@LockheedMartin (https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin)·22 ч
 (https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin/status/969663750872686594)
A little noisy in the clean room, but spic and span. Our own Scott Daniels shares how we got the @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) lander to the launch site. Next stop Mars!

ЦитироватьВАШИНГТОН, 5 марта. /Корр. ТАСС Дмитрий Кирсанов/. Функциональные испытания посадочного модуля InSight начинаются на базе ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния) перед его предстоящей в текущем году отправкой на Марс.
Как сообщила пресс-служба Национального управления США по аэронавтике и исследованию космического пространства (NASA), специалисты приступят к проведению серии этих тестов на текущей неделе. 28 февраля аппарат был доставлен на базу Ванденберг из Денвера (штат Колорадо) на борту военно-транспортного самолета С-17. Модуль доставили с предприятия изготовившей его корпорации Lockheed Martin. 30-дневное "окно" для старта с базы Ванденберг ракеты-носителя Atlas V, которой предстоит отправить модуль в примерно полугодовое путешествие к Марсу, откроется 5 мая.
По свидетельству NASA, по окончании функциональных испытаний будет обновлено программное обеспечение аппарата и начнется последняя череда тестов, в том числе после его заправки топливом. Параллельно будут проходить различные проверки научные инструменты, установленные на борту модуля. Намечается, что посадку аппарат произведет 26 ноября 2018 года, после чего проработает на Марсе 728 земных дней.

ЦитироватьLockheed Martin‏Подлинная учетная запись @LockheedMartin (https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin) 8 ч.8 часов назад (https://twitter.com/LockheedMartin/status/971143920460750853)

Unveiling the @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) Mars Lander! We shipped the lander to California on February 28 and it's launching to #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash) May 5.

ЦитироватьMars InSight Arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base

(https://www.youtube.com/user/JPLnews)  NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)


Опубликовано: 7 мар. 2018 г.

NASA's InSight spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to begin final preparations for launch. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring its heat output. It will be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from this west coast launch facility. The launch period for InSight opens May 5, 2018 and continues through June 8, 2018. For more about the mission, visit https://mars.nasa.gov/insight (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?q=https%3A%2F%2Fmars.nasa.gov%2Finsight&event=video_description&v=FQtjra0uEnc&redir_token=wWazz7cXt7crVSGw9oZ-VrDywwJ8MTUyMDU5MjQyN0AxNTIwNTA2MDI3) .

ЦитироватьAbout InSight's Launch

InSight is scheduled to launch under pre-dawn skies from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central coast of California in May 2018.

The mission's launch period is May 5 through June 8, 2018, with daily launch windows that last two hours per day. Launch opportunities are set five minutes apart during each date's launch window. The first opportunity begins at approximately 4:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on May 5.

InSight will launch from Launch Complex 3 and ride atop an Atlas V-401 rocket provided by United Launch Alliance, Centennial Colorado, a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Atlas V is one of the biggest rockets available for interplanetary flight. This is the same type of rocket that launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005.

The launch is only the beginning; the trip to Mars takes about six months. The journey is about 301 million miles (485 million kilometers).

No matter at what particular time and date InSight launches during its launch windows, its date with Mars is set for Nov. 26, 2018.

Цитировать (https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia19811-16.jpg)

March 13, 2018

Witness NASA's Next Mars Spacecraft Liftoff in the First Interplanetary Launch fr om the West Coast

Are you a digital creator, citizen journalist or active on social media? Do you have an idea for a unique way to share the story of the West Coast's first interplanetary rocket launch? Apply now to attend launch activities for NASA's InSight mission, May 3-5, at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California.

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InSight's launch begins a six-month journey to Mars, wh ere the lander will deploy the first seismometer to the surface of another planet. By measuring marsquakes, InSight will map the deep interior of Mars to help us better understand how rocky planets, including Earth, are formed.
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission.

For more information on InSight, visit: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/
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Last Updated: March 13, 2018
Editor: Emily Furfaro

ЦитироватьNASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/975451996688961541)

The @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) booster for @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight)'s Mars mission was recently lifted to vertical in preparation for the first interplanetary launch from the west coast on May 5.

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ЦитироватьNASA's InSight arrives at Vandenberg, Begins Preflight Processing

Bob Granath (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/rgranath/)
Posted Mar 21, 2018 at 11:14 am



Inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft has been mounted on to a rotation fixture for testing. InSight is scheduled to launch May 5, atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket for its trip to Mars.

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InSight was developed and built by Lockheed-Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colorado, and arrived at Vandenberg on Feb. 28 aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft. The spacecraft then was transported to the Astrotech facility at the West Coast launch site.

This mission will be the first to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the Red Planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created.

Photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Alex Valdez

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ЦитироватьSpaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) сейчас1 минуту назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/977285965478842371)


Ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California have raised an Atlas 5 rocket on its launch pad for liftoff of NASA's InSight Mars lander in May. InSight will be the first mission to another planet to launch from the West Coast.

ЦитироватьAtlas 5 rocket assembled for first Mars mission launch fr om Vandenberg
March 23, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/03/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


The Atlas 5's first stage booster for the InSight mission arrives at Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

Ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California raised a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on its launch pad earlier this month in preparation for liftoff May 5 with NASA's InSight lander heading to Mars.

The two-stage rocket was assembled in three pieces, beginning with the stacking of the Atlas 5's first stage booster March 3 at Space Launch Complex 3-East. The first stage's RD-180 main engine will burn a mixture of kerosene and liquid oxygen to send the InSight spacecraft out of the Earth's atmosphere during the first four minutes of the flight.

The Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage, powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine, was installed on top of the first stage March 6. The Centaur engine, consuming liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, will dispatch the InSight probe with enough velocity to escape Earth's gravity and head for Mars.

Two days later, on March 8, a boattail structure was added to the top of the Centaur stage. The boattail provides an aerodynamic and structural connection between the Centaur and the Atlas 5's payload fairing, which will be lifted on top of the rocket with the InSight spacecraft next month.

Liftoff is scheduled for May 5 during two-hour launch window that opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT). The InSight mission has until June 8 to depart Earth, a month-long period determined by the planetary positions of Earth and Mars in the solar system.

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Built by Lockheed Martin, InSight will reach Mars on Nov. 26, using a heat shield, a supersonic parachute and retro-rockets to steer toward a soft touchdown on Elysium Planitia, a broad equatorial plain. Once on the ground, the lander will survey its surroundings with cameras, then use its robotic arm to place a seismometer instrument on the surface to listen for tremors that could provide clues about the red planet's deep interior.

InSight will also drill into the Martian crust to a depth of nearly 16 feet, or 5 meters, to measure the heat coming up from the Martian interior. That is deeper than any previous Mars mission has scooped or drilled.


Artist's concept of the InSight lander on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scientists hope InSight will help them understand how rocky planets like Mars and Earth formed and evolved over the approximately 4.5 billion-year history of the solar system.

InSight will become the first mission to another planet launched from Vandenberg, the primary launch base on the U.S. West Coast. ULA and NASA officials agreed to launch InSight from California to alleviate demands on the launch schedule at Cape Canaveral, wh ere around a half-dozen Atlas 5 missions are planned this year.

InSight will be the only Atlas 5 launch from Vandenberg in 2018, and the relatively light weight of the spacecraft is well within the Atlas 5's lift capacity, eliminating the need to receive an extra boost of energy from Earth's rotation by launching to the east from Florida's Space Coast.

The launch of InSight will be the 78th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket since its debut in August 2002, and the 15th Atlas 5 mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base. InSight will be the fourth Mars mission to blast off atop an Atlas 5, after successful missions to send the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Curiosity rover and the MAVEN atmospheric research mission to the red planet.

InSight was originally supposed to launch in March 2016, but difficulties developing and testing the lander's seismometer science instrument prompted officials to keep the mission grounded until 2018. Scientists say the seismometer problem has been resolved.



Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing/Arron Taubman


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing/Arron Taubman


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin


Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

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ЦитироватьMars in a Minute: Are There Quakes on Mars?

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 28 мар. 2018 г.

Are there earthquakes on Mars?  Or rather, "marsquakes?"  And what could they teach us about the Red Planet?  Find out more in this 60-second video and by visiting mars.nasa.gov/insight.

ЦитироватьNASA Mars InSight Overview

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 29 мар. 2018 г.

NASA's next mission to Mars is weeks away from its May 2018 launch. InSight is more than a Mars mission. Its team members hope to unlock the mysteries of the formation and evolution of rocky planets, including Earth.

ЦитироватьInSight: Digging Deep into Mars

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Трансляция началась 16 часов назад

Original air date: Thursday, March 29 at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET, 2100 UTC)

NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander will study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all rocky planets formed, including Earth and its moon. The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes and a probe that will monitor the flow of heat in the planet's subsurface.

News briefing participants were:

• Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington
• Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL
• Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
• Jaime Singer, InSight instrument deployment lead at JPL

InSight will be the first planetary spacecraft to take off from the West Coast. It's scheduled to launch May 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. If pre-dawn skies are clear, the launch will be visible from Santa Maria to San Diego, California.

ЦитироватьMarch 29, 2018

Getting InSight on the Interior of Mars

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/insight.jpg)

Testing continued on NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft on inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in early March 2018.

InSight is scheduled to launch on May 5, 2018, and will be the first mission to explore the deep interior of Mars, studying the size, thickness, density and overall structure of the Red Planet's core, mantle and crust. It will investigate processes that shaped all the rocky planets of the inner solar system, including Earth.

Learn more about the InSight (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/insight/main/index.html) mission.

Image Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Alex Valdez

Last Updated: March 29, 2018
Editor: Yvette Smith

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 6 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/982401503393529856)

Last look from the cleanroom in the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base before I fly ~301 million miles to get to #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash). My launch is scheduled for #CincoDeMayo (https://twitter.com/hashtag/CincoDeMayo?src=hash) at 4:05 a.m. Pacific. More on my launch: http://go.nasa.gov/2E7JZkY  (https://t.co/DZ8GsDTfGc)

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ЦитироватьWatching the First Interplanetary Launch fr om America's West Coast

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 6 апр. 2018 г.

NASA's InSight to Mars will be the first interplanetary launch from America's West Coast. Residents in some of California's coastal communities could get a front row seat when the mission launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Here's when and wh ere to see it.

ЦитироватьAPRIL 6, 2018

Bound for Mars: Countdown to First Interplanetary Launch fr om California


NASA's InSight to Mars undergoes final preparations at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., ahead of its May 5 launch date. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Larger view (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/insight/20180406/insight20180406.jpg)

In the early morning hours of May 5, millions of Californians will have an opportunity to witness a sight they have never seen before - the historic first interplanetary launch from America's West Coast. On board the 189-foot-tall (57.3-meter) United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will be NASA's InSight spacecraft, destined for the Elysium Planitia region located in Mars' northern hemisphere. The May 5 launch window for the InSight mission opens at 4:05 am PDT (7:05 EDT, 11:05 UTC) and remains open for two hours.

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"If you live in Southern California and the weather is right, you'll probably have a better view of the launch than I will," said Tom Hoffman, project manager for NASA's InSight mission from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "I'll be stuck inside a control room looking at monitors -- which is not the best way to enjoy an Atlas 5 on its way to Mars."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuNfBRaywU4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuNfBRaywU4)
(video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuNfBRaywU4) 2:09)
NASA's InSight to Mars will be the first interplanetary launch from America's West Coast. Residents in some of California's coastal communities could get a front row seat when the mission launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Here's when and wh ere to see it.

In clear skies, the InSight launch should be viewable up and down a wide swath of the California coast. Residents from as far north as Bakersfield to perhaps as far south as Rosarito, Mexico, may see the Atlas rocket rising in the predawn sky and then heading south, parallel to the coastline.

The United Launch Alliance two-stage Atlas V 401 launch vehicle will produce 860,200 pounds (3.8 million newtons) of thrust as it climbs away from its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, near Lompoc, California. During the first 17 seconds of powered flight, the Atlas V will climb vertically above its launch pad. Then it will begin a pitch and yaw maneuver that will place it on a trajectory towards Earth's south pole.

"After lift-off from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 3, the Atlas V begins a southerly trajectory and climbs out over the Channel Islands off Oxnard," said Tim Dunn, launch director for the Launch Services Program at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "If you live on the California Central Coast or south to L.A. and San Diego, be sure to get up early on May 5th, because Atlas V is the gold standard in launch vehicles and it can put on a great show."

Mach One occurs 1 minute and 18 seconds into the Atlas V's powered flight. At that time the vehicle will be about 30,000 feet (9 kilometers) in altitude and 1 mile (1.75 kilometers) down range. Two minutes and 36 seconds later, the Atlas first stage will shut down at an altitude of about 66 miles (106 kilometers) and 184 miles (296 kilometers) down range. The Centaur second stage (carrying InSight inside a 40-foot-long payload fairing) separates from the now-dead first stage six seconds later. Ten seconds later, the Centaur's engine kicks in with its 22,890 pounds (101,820 newtons) of thrust, which will carry it and InSight into its 115-mile-high (185-kilometer) parking orbit 13 minutes and 16 seconds after launch. This parking orbit will last 59 to 66 minutes, depending on the date and time of the launch. The Centaur will then re-ignite for one last burn at one hour and 19 minutes after launch, placing InSight into a Mars-bound interplanetary trajectory. Spacecraft separation from the Centaur will occur about 93 minutes after liftoff for the first May 5 launch opportunity as the spacecraft is approximately over the Alaska-Yukon region.

InSight's launch period is May 5 through June 8, 2018, with multiple launch opportunities over windows of approximately two hours each date. Launch opportunities are set five minutes apart during each date's window.

Additional information on viewing the launch in person is at:https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/timeline/launch/watch-in-person/.

Live televised coverage of the launch will be available at:https://www.nasa.gov/live.

Whichever date the launch occurs, InSight's landing on Mars is planned for Nov. 26, 2018, around noon PST (3 p.m. EST / 20:00 UTC).

NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight (http://www.nasa.gov/insight)) lander will study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all rocky planets formed, including Earth and its moon. The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes and a probe that will monitor the flow of heat in the planet's subsurface.

NASA' s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida provides launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA's launch service provider of the Atlas 5 rocket. A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission.

For more information about InSight, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

News Media Contact

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

JoAnna Wendel
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1003
joanna.r.wendel@nasa.gov

2018-069

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ЦитироватьNASA's InSight lander inside one month to launch toward Mars
April 8, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


InSight's heat shield (left) will soon be re-installed on the Mars lander (right) in preparation for launch May 5 fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

NASA's InSight Mars lander will be buttoned up for launch in the coming weeks at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, in preparation for its hoisting atop an Atlas 5 rocket for blastoff in the predawn hours of May 5.

The Lockheed Martin-built spacecraft has completed a series of checkouts since arriving at Vandenberg, a military base located northwest of Los Angeles, on Feb. 28. Engineers removed the InSight lander's heat shield for final electronics testing and fueling.

With fuel for its control thrusters and landing rockets now loaded, and launch less than four weeks away, ground crews inside the Astrotech spacecraft processing facility at Vandenberg will re-install the heat shield, lift the spacecraft on top of the Atlas 5's payload attach fitting, then encapsulate the probe inside the Atlas 5's nose shroud.

Once cocooned inside the payload fairing, InSight will be transported to Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg, where cranes will hoist the spacecraft on top of the Atlas 5 launcher already assembled at the pad inside a mobile service tower.

ULA's launch team completed a fueling test and countdown rehearsal on the Atlas 5 rocket last month. Such tests, called "wet dress rehearsals," are not part of a normal Atlas 5 launch campaign, but officials ordered the operation as an extra step to ensure the rocket is ready for InSight's 34-day launch period.

Liftoff is scheduled for May 5 during a two-hour launch window opening at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT).

Спойлер

InSight has until June 8 to launch from Vandenberg, when the ever-changing positions of Earth and Mars in the solar system make a direct trip possible. Mars launch opportunities come once every 26 months.

The lander will arrive at Mars on Nov. 26, regardless of the launch date from May 5 through June 8.


Artist's concept of the InSight lander on Mars, with its seismometer and heat probe instruments deployed on the surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

InSight will be the first mission to another planet to lift off from the U.S. West Coast. Vandenberg Air Force Base is typically host to launches into polar orbit, a type of orbit usually tailored for climate research missions, spy satellites and some communication applications.

NASA's interplanetary probes are usually reserved for launches from Cape Canaveral, wh ere rockets take off toward the east over the Atlantic Ocean for safety reasons. A launch toward the east gains an extra boost from the speed of Earth's rotation, allowing a rocket to carry a heavier payload.

But InSight is small — it will weigh around 1,530 pounds (694 kilograms) at launch — well below the lift capability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, which will fly in its basic "401" configuration with a four-meter payload fairing and no solid rocket boosters.

That means the Atlas 5 will not need the extra energy imparted during an eastward launch from Cape Canaveral, and ULA and NASA agreed to launch InSight from Vandenberg. Fewer Atlas 5 missions are scheduled from Vandenberg, so officials wanted to reduce the workload at ULA's busier launch base in Florida.

Designers based the InSight lander on NASA's Phoenix probe, which launched in August 2007 and touched down on the northern polar plains of Mars in May 2008. Diminishing solar power and cold temperatures limited Phoenix's lifetime to about five months — two months longer than its three-month prime mission.

InSight will head for a broad plain near the Martian equator with ample sunlight year-round. Officials sel ected the landing site in Elysium Planitia for its safety — there are few steep slopes or huge boulders. Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, calls it "the biggest parking lot on Mars."

No mission has landed at Elysium Planitia before, but NASA's Curiosity rover — the last U.S. craft to land on Mars in 2012 — is exploring Gale Crater nearly 400 miles (600 kilometers) to the south.

Scientists usually want to send Mars landers to places that show evidence of ancient water flows, allowing instruments to study whether the red planet may have once harbored life.

But InSight's scientific objectives go deeper.


Diagram of the InSight spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Two instruments carried aboard the lander will study the Martian interior, listening for tremors and measuring heat coming from the planet's deep mantle and core. Scientists will also measure Mars' polar wobble by analyzing radio signals transmitted between InSight and Earth-based antennas.

"In essence, it will take the vital signs of Mars — its pulse, temperature and much more," said Thomas Zurbuchen, head of NASA's science division. "We like to say it's the first thorough checkup since the planet formed four-and-a-half billion years ago."

Much of the ancient geologic record on Earth has eroded away, but Mars may still hold clues about how it was born, accreted rock and dust, and formed a hot, high-pressure mantle and core as heavier elements sunk deep beneath its surface.

"How we get from a ball of featureless rock into a planet that may or may not support life is a key question in planetary science," Banerdt said. "And these processes that do this all happen in the first tens of millions of years."

Discoveries made by InSight at Mars could inform scientists how the Earth formed and evolved.

"Mars is a smaller planet," Banerdt said. "It's less active than the Earth, so it has retained the fingerprints of those early processes in its basic structure — the thickness of the crust, the compositon of the mantle, the size and composition of its core," he said. "By mapping out these boundaries, these various different sections of the inside of the planet, we can then understand better how the planet formed, and how our planet got to be the way it is."

The nearly $1 billion InSight mission carries a French-developed seismometer package and a German-built heat probe that will burrow to a depth of up to 16 feet (5 meters).

A nearly 8-foot-long (2.4-meter) robotic arm will place the seismometer and heat probe on the Martian surface next to the lander after touchdown. InSight's robotic arm was originally built for the canceled Mars Surveyor lander that was supposed to launch in 2001.

Officials hoped to launch InSight in March 2016, but problems testing the seismometer instrument forced a delay until the next Mars launch opportunity this year.

InSight's primary mission is expected to last more than a Martian year — or nearly two Earth years — through November 2020.

"This is something that I've dreamed about, and developed my career to, for 30 years now," Banerdt said. "We've been trying to refine this mission concept and get it ready to go, and finally we're right on the verge of taking off for Mars."

The photos below were taken Friday inside the Astrotech clean room at Vandenberg, showing the InSight lander inside its aerodynamic backshell and mated to the craft's cruise stage, which will steer the probe toward Mars after its launch May 5.

The cruise stage's power-generating solar panels will be launched in the extended configuration seen in these photos. Shortly before arriving at Mars, the cruise stage will separate fr om the entry vehicle and burn up in the Martian atmosphere, while the InSight lander makes its final ascent with the assistance of a supersonic parachute and braking thrusters.

Спойлер

Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

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ЦитироватьChris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/983329875472867328)

FEATURE ARTICLE: InSight ready for final preparations for a trip to land on Mars -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/04/insight-final-preparations-trip-land-mars/ ... (https://t.co/5SThiJe6VX)

- By Philip Sloss including photos from him at the media event.

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ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Джентльмены, а где оно должно сесть?

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
а шестиметрового бура хватить чтобы добуриться?

ЦитироватьATLAS V TO LAUNCH INSIGHT

[/li]
• Rocket: Atlas V 401
• Launch Date: Saturday, May 5, 2018
• Launch Time: 4:05 a.m. PDT
• Launch Broadcast: Details to come
• Launch Location: Space Launch Complex-3, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
  

Mission Information: NASA's InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission will place a single geophysical lander on Mars to study its deep interior. The two-year InSight mission seeks to understand the evolutionary formation of rocky planets, including Earth, by investigating the interior structure and processes of Mars. InSight will also investigate the dynamics of Martian tectonic activity and meteorite impacts, which could offer clues about such phenomena on Earth.

Launch Notes: InSight will be the first interplanetary mission launched from the West Coast, thanks to the performance of the Atlas V rocket, which also will launch two CubeSats. InSight will be the 38th Atlas V rocket to launch in the 401 configuration and the 78th Atlas V to launch since the inaugural flight in 2002. ULA and its heritage rockets have launched every U.S.-led mission to Mars, including the Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers as well as the MAVEN satellite.

Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch (https://www.facebook.com/ulalaunch), twitter.com/ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) and instagram.com/ulalaunch (https://instagram.com/ulalaunch); hashtag #AtlasV.

Go Atlas! Go Centaur! InSight!

ЦитироватьAtlas V Prepared to Boost NASA's InSight to Mars

Bob Granath (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/rgranath/)
Posted Apr 19, 2018 at 10:51 am



At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster and Centaur upper stage are lifted for positioning on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 3. The rocket will launch NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft for its trip to Mars.

Спойлер

While processing of the InSight spacecraft continues in the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg, the Atlas V booster was transported to the launch pad on March 3, 2018 (photo on the left). Three days later, technicians and engineers assisted as the Centaur upper stage was mated atop the Atlas V (photo on the right).

On March 8, the boattail fairing was mated atop the Centaur. The boattail is an adaptor providing an interface between the Centaur and the payload fairing encapsulating InSight. Once encapsulated in its payload faring, InSight will be transported to the launch pad and mounted atop the Atlas V. Liftoff is scheduled for May 5, 2018.

InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

Atlas booster photo credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin
Centaur lift photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Arron Taubman

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ЦитироватьNASA's First Deep Space CubeSats

NASA 360 (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55MqAQLf6S5tSphpOi_1PA)

Опубликовано: 19 апр. 2018 г.

NASA's Mars Cube One, or MarCO, is heading to deep space to test a first-of-its-kind technology demonstration: near-real-time communication between Earth and Mars using CubeSats.

ЦитироватьAPRIL 19, 2018
NASA Engineers Dream Big with Small Spacecraft

Спойлер

An artist's rendering of the twin Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft as they fly through deep space. The MarCOs will be the first CubeSats -- a kind of modular, mini-satellite -- attempting to fly to another planet. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 
› Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22314)


Engineer Joel Steinkraus uses sunlight to test the solar arrays on one of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 
› Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22317)


Joel Steinkraus, MarCO lead mechanical engineer fr om JPL, makes an adjustment on the CubeSat prior to integration in a deployment box as seen inside the cleanroom lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Monday, March 12. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Tyvak/Cal Poly SLO 
› Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22321)


One of the MarCO CubeSats inside a cleanroom at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, before being placed into its deployment box. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Tyvak/Cal Poly SLO
› Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22322)

[свернуть]

Many of NASA's most iconic spacecraft towered over the engineers who built them: think Voyagers 1 and 2, Cassini or Galileo -- all large machines that could measure up to a school bus.

But in the past two decades, mini-satellites called CubeSats have made space accessible to a new generation. These briefcase-sized boxes are more focused in their abilities and have a fraction of the mass -- and cost -- of some past titans of space.

Спойлер

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpzQKYC6nLf6M9AuBbng_O8&time_continue=2&v=P_8ZEAPrrHQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpzQKYC6nLf6M9AuBbng_O8&time_continue=2&v=P_8ZEAPrrHQ)
(video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpzQKYC6nLf6M9AuBbng_O8&time_continue=2&v=P_8ZEAPrrHQ) 0:53)
NASA's Mars Cube One, or MarCO, is heading to deep space to test a first-of-its-kind technology demonstration: near-real-time communication between Earth and Mars using CubeSats.

In May, engineers will be watching closely as NASA launches its first pair of CubeSats designed for deep space. The twin spacecraft are called Mars Cube One, or MarCO, and were built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Both MarCO spacecraft will be hitching a ride on the same rocket launching InSight, NASA's next robotic lander headed for Mars. The MarCOs are intended to follow InSight on its cruise through space; if they survive the journey, each is equipped with a folding high-gain antenna to relay data about InSight as it enters the Martian atmosphere and lands.

The MarCOs won't produce any science of their own, and aren't required for InSight to send its data back home (the lander will rely on NASA's Mars orbiters for that, in addition to communicating directly with antennas on Earth). But the twins will be a crucial first test of CubeSat technology beyond Earth orbit, demonstrating how they could be used to further explore the solar system.

"These are our scouts," said Andy Klesh of JPL, MarCO's chief engineer. "CubeSats haven't had to survive the intense radiation of a trip to deep space before, or use propulsion to point their way towards Mars. We hope to blaze that trail."

The official names of these two scouts are "MarCO-A" and "MarCO-B." But to the team that built them, they're "Wall-E" and "Eva" -- nicknames based on Pixar characters. Both MarCOs use a compressed gas commonly found in fire extinguishers to push themselves through space, the same way Wall-E did in his 2008 film.

Survival is far from guaranteed. As the saying goes: space is hard. The first challenge will be switching on. The MarCO batteries were last checked in March by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems of Irvine, California, which ins erted each CubeSat into a special dispenser that will propel it in to space. Those batteries will be used to deploy each CubeSat's solar arrays, with the hope that enough power will be left over to turn on their radios. If power is too low, the MarCO team may hear silence until each spacecraft is more fully charged.

If both MarCOs make the journey, they'll test a method of communications relay that could act as a "black box" for future Mars landings, helping engineers understand the difficult process of getting spacecraft to safely touch down on the Red Planet. Mars landings are notoriously hard to stick.

The MarCOs could also prove that CubeSats are ready to go beyond Earth. CubeSats were first developed to teach university students about satellites. Today, they're a major commercial technology, providing data on everything from shipping routes to environmental changes.

NASA scientists are eager (https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-selects-cubesat-smallsat-mission-concept-studies) to explore the solar system using CubeSats. JPL even has its own CubeSat clean room (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4781), wh ere several flight projects have been built, including the MarCOs. For young engineers, the thrill is building something that could potentially reach Mars in just a matter of years rather than a decade.

"We're a small team, so everyone gets experience working on multiple parts of the spacecraft," Klesh said. "You learn everything about building, testing and flying along the way. We're inventing every day at this point."

The MarCOs were built by JPL, which manages InSight and MarCO for NASA. They were funded by both JPL and NASA's Science Mission Directorate. A number of commercial suppliers provided unique technologies for the MarCOs. A full list, along with more information about the spacecraft, can be found here (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/insight/appendix/mars-cube-one/).

News Media Contact

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

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2018-077

ЦитироватьInSight Mars lander joined with Atlas 5 launcher at Vandenberg Air Force Base
April 24, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


File photo of a payload being lifted atop an Atlas 5 rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base before a previous mission. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's Central Coast hoisted NASA's InSight Mars lander atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket Monday, kicking off nearly two weeks of integrated tests and checkouts before the probe's interplanetary launch window opens May 5.

Спойлер

Enclosed within the Atlas 5's metallic 13.8-foot (4.2-meter) diameter shroud, the InSight spacecraft was transferred fr om an Astrotech payload processing facility to Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg early Monday. A crane lifted the probe top the Atlas 5 rocket protected inside the launch pad's mobile gantry, and technicians mated the payload on top of the Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage.

With the addition of InSight and its aerodynamic enclosure, the Atlas 5 rocket stands 188 feet (57 meters) tall.

No photos of payload lift operation were released by NASA or ULA as of Tuesday afternoon.

The final assembly of the Atlas 5 rocket is one of the last major steps before launch. Engineers will check electrical connections between the launcher and its payload in a series of tests over the next few days, setting up for final readiness reviews next week and the start of countdown preparations the evening of Friday, May 4, with the retraction of the mobile service tower at the SLC-3E launch pad.

InSight has a two-hour launch predawn window May 5 opening at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT). The nearly $1 billion mission, funded primarily by NASA with contributions from France and Germany, has until June 8 to launch from Vandenberg, when the ever-changing positions of Earth and Mars in the solar system make a direct trip possible. Mars launch opportunities come once every 26 months.

The lander will arrive at Mars on Nov. 26, regardless of the launch date from May 5 through June 8.


NASA's InSight spacecraft, pictured here in its cruise configuration, during launch preparations in a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Alex Valdez

InSight will be the first mission to another planet to launch from Vandenberg, a military base on the Pacific coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Vandenberg Air Force Base is typically host to launches into polar orbit, a type of orbit usually tailored for climate research missions, spy satellites and some communication applications.

NASA's interplanetary probes are usually reserved for launches from Cape Canaveral, wh ere rockets take off toward the east over the Atlantic Ocean for safety reasons. A launch toward the east gains an extra boost from the speed of Earth's rotation, allowing a rocket to carry a heavier payload.

But InSight is small — it will weigh around 1,530 pounds (694 kilograms) at launch — well below the lift capability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, which will fly in its basic "401" configuration with a four-meter payload fairing and no solid rocket boosters.

That means the Atlas 5 will not need the extra energy imparted during an eastward launch from Cape Canaveral, and ULA and NASA agreed to launch InSight from Vandenberg. Fewer Atlas 5 missions are scheduled from Vandenberg, so officials wanted to reduce the workload at ULA's busier launch base in Florida.

"We're really excited," said Lt. Col. Kenneth Decker, commander of the 4th Space Launch Squadron at Vandenberg, in an interview with Spaceflight Now earlier this year. "Since it's not a classified mission and it's more public, it's fun for our squadron because we can interact a little more and share information with our families and other people."

The 4th Space Launch Squadron provides support for ULA's Atlas and Delta rocket missions at Vandenberg, a launch manifest that is primarily comprised of secret spy satellites for the U.S. government.


One half of the Atlas 5 rocket's payload shroud for the InSight mission. Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Julio Paz

Designers based the InSight lander on NASA's Phoenix probe, which launched in August 2007 and touched down on the northern polar plains of Mars in May 2008. Diminishing solar power and cold temperatures limited Phoenix's lifetime to about five months — two months longer than its three-month prime mission.

InSight will head for a broad plain near the Martian equator with ample sunlight year-round. Officials sel ected the landing site in Elysium Planitia for its safety — there are few steep slopes or huge boulders. Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, calls it "the biggest parking lot on Mars."

A robotic arm on InSight will place a French-built seismometer on the surface of Mars near the lander, and a heat probe provided by the German space agency, DLR, will burrow up to 16 feet (5 meters) underground to measure thermal energy coming from the red planet's interior.

Scientists will collect the seismic and thermal data to find out about the structure of Mars's crust, mantle and core. The information will help geologists understand how rocky planets like Mars, and Earth, formed in the early solar system.

The geologic record dating back to the birth of the planets some 4.5 billion years ago has been erased on Earth.


United Launch Alliance conducted a "wet dress rehearsal" fueling test on the Atlas 5 rocket for the InSight mission last month. Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

ULA's launch team at Vandenberg began assembling the Atlas 5 rocket on its launch pad at Vandenberg on March 3 with the stacking of the kerosene-fueled first stage booster.

The Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage, powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine, was installed on top of the first stage March 6. The Centaur engine, consuming liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, will dispatch the InSight probe with enough velocity to escape Earth's gravity and head for Mars.

Two days later, on March 8, a boattail structure was added to the top of the Centaur stage. The boattail provides an aerodynamic and structural connection between the Centaur and the Atlas 5's payload fairing.

A pair of CubeSats that will accompany InSight to Mars were installed on their carrier aboard the Centaur upper stage last month. The CubeSats will fly by Mars and attempt to beam telemetry fr om InSight back to Earth during the lander's descent.

The launch team completed a countdown rehearsal March 22, during which the Atlas 5 was loaded with liquid propellants to simulate launch day procedures. The "wet dress rehearsal" is not part of a typical Atlas 5 launch campaign, but managers added the test to wring out any potential problems with the rocket well ahead of liftoff due to InSight's tight interplanetary launch period.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьAtlas 5/InSight launch windows
April 24, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


Artist's concept of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: NASA

he United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket carrying NASA's InSight lander toward Mars will have a roughly two-hour predawn launch window each day from May 5 through June 8 to boost the science probe into space from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The nearly five-week launch period is dictated by the positions of Earth and Mars in the solar system, an alignment that occurs once every 26 months to make a direct journey between the planets possible.

The exact duration of the launch window varies day-to-day, but around two hours will be available each day, according to NASA. A unique launch opportunity is available every five minutes during each day's launch window.

Спойлер

InSight's landing on Mars will occur Nov. 26 around 3 p.m. EST (12 p.m. PST; 0800 GMT), no matter which day the probe blasts off from California. InSight is designed to study the deep interior structure of Mars with a pair of scientific instruments for at least two years.

Here are are the times for the opening of each day's launch window from May 5 through June 8 (Data source: NASA/JPL):

[/li]
• May 5: 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT)
• May 6: 3:55 a.m. PDT (6:55 a.m. EDT; 1055 GMT)
• May 7: 3:50 a.m. PDT (6:50 a.m. EDT; 1050 GMT)
• May 8: 3:40 a.m. PDT (6:40 a.m. EDT; 1040 GMT)
• May 9: 3:35 a.m. PDT (6:35 a.m. EDT; 1035 GMT)
• May 10: 3:30 a.m. PDT (6:30 a.m. EDT; 1030 GMT)
• May 11: 3:20 a.m. PDT (6:20 a.m. EDT; 1020 GMT)
• May 12: 3:15 a.m. PDT (6:15 a.m. EDT; 1015 GMT)
• May 13: 3:10 a.m. PDT (6:10 a.m. EDT; 1010 GMT)
• May 14: 3:00 a.m. PDT (6:00 a.m. EDT; 1000 GMT)
• May 15: 2:55 a.m. PDT (5:55 a.m. EDT; 0955 GMT)
• May 16: 2:45 a.m. PDT (5:45 a.m. EDT; 0945 GMT)
• May 17: 2:40 a.m. PDT (5:40 a.m. EDT; 0940 GMT)
• May 18: 2:35 a.m. PDT (5:35 a.m. EDT; 0935 GMT)
• May 19: 2:25 a.m. PDT (5:25 a.m. EDT; 0925 GMT)
• May 20: 2:20 a.m. PDT (5:20 a.m. EDT: 0920 GMT)
• May 21: 2:10 a.m. PDT (5:10 a.m. EDT; 0910 GMT)
• May 22: 2:05 a.m. PDT (5:05 a.m. EDT; 0905 GMT)
• May 23: 2:00 a.m. PDT (5:00 a.m. EDT; 0900 GMT)
• May 24: 1:50 a.m. PDT (4:50 a.m. EDT; 0850 GMT)
• May 25: 1:45 a.m. PDT (4:45 a.m. EDT; 0845 GMT)
• May 26: 1:40 a.m. PDT (4:40 a.m. EDT; 0840 GMT)
• May 27: 1:35 a.m. PDT (4:35 a.m. EDT; 0835 GMT)
• May 28: 1:30 a.m. PDT (4:30 a.m. EDT; 0830 GMT)
• May 29: 1:25 a.m. PDT (4:25 a.m. EDT; 0825 GMT)
• May 30: 1:20 a.m. PDT (4:20 a.m. EDT; 0820 GMT)
• May 31: 1:10 a.m. PDT (4:10 a.m. EDT; 0810 GMT)
• June 1: 1:05 a.m. PDT (4:05 a.m. EDT; 0805 GMT)
• June 2: 1:00 a.m. PDT (4:00 a.m. EDT; 0800 GMT)
• June 3: 12:55 a.m. PDT (3:55 a.m. EDT; 0755 GMT)
• June 4: 12:50 a.m. PDT (3:50 a.m. EDT; 0750 GMT)
• June 5: 12:45 a.m. PDT (3:45 a.m. EDT; 0745 GMT)
• June 6: 12:40 a.m. PDT (3:40 a.m. EDT; 0740 GMT)
• June 7: 12:35 a.m. PDT (3:35 a.m. EDT; 0735 GMT)
• June 8: 12:30 a.m. PDT (3:30 a.m. EDT; 0730 GMT)
  

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьNASA's InSight Spacecraft Attached to Atlas V Rocket for Launch

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/lherridg/)
Posted Apr 27, 2018 at 4:21 pm

(https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/wp-content/uploads/sites/282/2018/04/InSighttoLaunch-Pad.jpg)
NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars Lander is transported to Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Daniel Herrera

NASA's next Mars lander is one significant step closer to beginning its journey. Secured inside its payload fairing, the agency's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft was transported from the Astrotech facility to Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Спойлер

(https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/wp-content/uploads/sites/282/2018/04/InSightAttachtoAtlasV.jpg)
Technicians and engineers position NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars Lander atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold

The payload fairing was hoisted up inside the Vertical Integration Facility and attached to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Liftoff is scheduled for May 5, 2018.

InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the Red Planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьApril 27, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY 008-18

InSight Briefings and Events

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/insight_launch_still1.jpg)
An artist's rendering of a rocket launching with the InSight spacecraft later this May.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA's next mission to Mars - the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport  (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/insight/main/index.html)spacecraft (InSight) - is scheduled to launch as early as Saturday, May 5, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight's liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 is targeted for 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) at the opening of a two-hour launch window, making it also the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast.

Launch coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency's website (http://www.nasa.gov/live) at 3:30 a.m. PDT.

Спойлер

InSight will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will help us better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are created.

Launching on the same rocket as InSight is a separate NASA technology experiment known as Mars Cube One (MarCO). These two mini-spacecraft are the first test of miniaturized CubeSat technology in deep space. They are designed to test new communications and navigation capabilities for future missions and may aid InSight communications.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate  (SMD) in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. The MarCOs were built by JPL, which manages InSight and MarCO for NASA. They were funded by both JPL and NASA's SMD.

[свернуть]

...

L-2 Day (Thursday, May 3)

InSight Prelaunch Briefing

Спойлер

A prelaunch mission briefing will be held at 1 p.m. PDT at building 836 and air live on NASA Television and the agency's website (http://www.nasa.gov/live).

Participants:

[/li]
• Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
• Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
• Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales
• Philippe Lognonné – InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France
• Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight
• Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL
• Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
• Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA's Launch Services Program
• Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches
• Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg
• 1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing
  

[свернуть]

L-0 Day (Saturday, May 5)

NASA TV Launch Coverage

NASA TV live launch coverage will begin at 3:30 a.m. PDT. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit https://www.nasa.gov/live.
...

NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of InSight will be available on the NASA website (http://www.nasa.gov/insight). Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 3:30 a.m. as the countdown milestones occur. ... You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/.

Last Updated: April 28, 2018
Editor: Linda Herridge

ЦитироватьApril 28, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-071

NASA Sets Sights on May 5 Launch of InSight Mars Mission

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22226.jpg)
Illustration of NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)
Credits: NASA

NASA's next mission to Mars, Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight (https://www.nasa.gov/insight)), is scheduled to launch Saturday, May 5, on a first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars. Coverage of prelaunch and launch activities begins Thursday, May 3, on NASA Television and the agency's website (https://www.nasa.gov/live).

InSight, the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast, is targeted to launch at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

Launching on the same rocket is a separate NASA technology experiment known as Mars Cube One (MarCO (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php)). MarCO consists of two mini-spacecraft and will be the first test of CubeSat technology in deep space. They are designed to test new communications and navigation capabilities for future missions and may aid InSight communications.

NASA TV and online mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):

Thursday, May 3

4 p.m. – Prelaunch Briefing

[/li]
• Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters
• Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
• Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for the InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales
• Philippe Lognonné, InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France
• Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight
• Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL
• Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
• Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space
• Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA's Launch Services Program
• Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches
• Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg
• 1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing
  

Saturday, May 5

6:30 a.m. – Launch coverage begins.

7:05 a.m. – Launch time

Спойлер

Public Launch Viewing

...

InSight will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes, which are seismic events similar to earthquakes on Earth. It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will help us better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are created.

JPL manages the InSight mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and Germany's DLR, are supporting the mission.

ULA, of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. The Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management. ...

[свернуть]

Last Updated: April 28, 2018
Editor: Karen Northon

ЦитироватьPhotos: NASA's InSight lander buttoned up for trip to Mars
April 29, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


The payload fairing of InSight's Atlas 5 launcher was closed around the spacecraft April 16. Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing

Now cocooned inside a heat shield and the nose shroud of an Atlas 5 rocket that will send it to Mars, NASA's InSight lander is awaiting launch May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

These photos show InSight's heat shield, measuring around 8.7 feet (2.6 meters) in diameter, being lifted onto the spacecraft's back shell April 12 to enclose the lander for the trip to Mars. The heat shield and back shell will protect the probe during descent through the Martian atmosphere.

Спойлер

Once fully assembled in its cruise configuration — with fixed solar array wings to provide electricity during the nearly seven-month journey to Mars — the 1,530-pound (694-kilogram) InSight spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing April 16.

The shroud measures around 13 feet, or 4 meters, in diameter and will jettison from the Atlas 5 rocket approximately four-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.

InSight and its payload fairing were transported from a payload processing clean room to Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg on April 23. A crane hoisted the payload on top of the Atlas 5 rocket inside the launch pad's mobile gantry, capping assembly of the 188-foot-tall (57-meter) launcher.

Liftoff is set for May 5 during a two-hour launch window opening at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT). The mission has until June 8 to depart Earth during this year's Mars launch period, or else wait until mid-2020.

Landing on Mars is scheduled for Nov. 26, when InSight will deploy a parachute and fire braking rockets to touch down on a broad equatorial plain named Elysium Planitia to begin studying the red planet's seismic activity and probing its interior structure.


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Tony Vauclin


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Tony Vauclin


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Aaron Taubman


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Aaron Taubman


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Aaron Taubman


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Daniel Herrera


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Daniel Herrera


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Daniel Herrera


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: NASA


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold


Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьLaunch Week Begins with Flight Readiness Review, Dress Rehearsal

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/lherridg/)
Posted May 1, 2018 at 2:00 pm

Launch week is underway at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where NASA's InSight spacecraft is being prepared for its upcoming flight to Mars. Mission and launch officials gathered Monday for the InSight flight readiness review. Teams are preparing to launch InSight on its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Saturday, May 5, at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT).

Prelaunch activities continue today as launch team members take part in a countdown dress rehearsal.

Спойлер

InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes. InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the Red Planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, manages the InSight mission for the agency's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by its Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Several European partners, including France's space agency, the Centre National d'Étude Spatiales, and the German Aerospace Center, are supporting the mission. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is providing the Atlas V launch service. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at its Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch management.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьJared‏ @jared_delvalle (https://twitter.com/jared_delvalle) 21 ч.21 час назад (https://twitter.com/jared_delvalle/status/991067755104423936)

#NewProfilePic (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewProfilePic?src=hash) @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) GO #Insight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Insight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 22 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/991059898363457537)

It's launch week for @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight)! Launch on #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) is planned for 4:05amPDT on Saturday, May 5. Are you in SoCal? Here's where the launch may be visible for you.

ЦитироватьManagers clear InSight for launch after heat shield review
May 1, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


Ground crews oversee the installation of InSight's heat shield last month. Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Aaron Taubman

NASA officials have determined that the robotic InSight lander is ready for its mission to Mars after concluding that the probe should not suffer the same flaw that led to a crack in a heat shield undergoing tests for the space agency's Mars 2020 rover, InSight's chief scientist said Monday.

Managers who participated in a flight readiness review Monday gave approval for ground teams to continue InSight launch preparations at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, keeping the mission on schedule for liftoff on an Atlas 5 rocket Saturday during a two-hour window opening at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT).

Engineers took an extra look at data gathered during tests of the InSight lander's heat shield after a separate team discovered a circumferential fracture last month in the heat shield for NASA's Mars 2020 mission.

Спойлер

NASA ordered the construction of a new heat shield for the Mars 2020 mission, which aims to place a rover on the red planet, and the replacement should be ready in time for the rover's planned July 2020 launch date, agency officials said.

But InSight, ferrying a suite of seismic and heat flow instruments to the red planet, was less than a month fr om launch when engineers found the crack in the Mars 2020 heat shield. The stationary InSight lander carries a thermal protection shell around half the size of Mars 2020's heat shield, and with key design differences, but InSight was built by Lockheed Martin, the same contractor in charge of the Mars 2020 heat shield.

"Our heat shield is not very similar to Mars 2020's, but of course, we use some of the same processes and some of the same designs," said Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "When they had that issue, we went back, re-looked at all of our test data, and made sure that the tests we did were the appropriate tests, and that they would have presumably found the same kind of issue."

Banerdt said Monday that engineers examined photo documentation and inspection reports to "double- and triple-check" InSight's heat shield, making sure teams did not overlook a problem during construction and pre-flight ground testing.

Ground crews were unable to do another inspection of InSight's 8.7-foot-diameter (2.6-meter) heat shield because the spacecraft was already in launch configuration. The spacecraft was encapsulated inside the Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing April 16, then mounted atop the launcher April 23.

"We did a complete review of our heat shield documentation," Banerdt said in an interview with Spaceflight Now. "At this time, of course, the heat shield is not accessible for inspection, so we didn't actually go back and re-inspect it, but we did go through the very extensive documentation we had from our testing.

"We double-checked all our testing to make sure that we did do a thorough test of mechanical properties, and it couldn't have slipped by without our noticing."

Banerdt said the news that Mars 2020's heat shield was damaged during testing got his attention, but engineers soon determined the problem would have no impact on InSight.

"I didn't have too much time to stew on it and build up a lot of anxiety," Banerdt said. "There are lots of issues like this."

Engineers are often reviewing hardware failures to ensure they do not affect other missions carrying similar components.

"You get these reports of some integrated circuit that's failed on an existing satellite," Banerdt offered as one example. "And you've got 50 of them in your spacecraft, and you have to figure out are they from the same lot? Has that been implicated? Are the uses that we have critical? Those kinds of things happen a lot.

"The longer you're on the ground, the more of those things that any space launch has to deal with," he said.

The heat shield review was "the last in a long line of those sorts of things," Banerdt said.

InSight has until June 8 to blast off and reach Mars in November. The roughly five-week launch period is fixed by the positions of Earth and Mars in their orbits around the sun.

The mission was originally slated to launch in March 2016, but NASA delayed the departure after trouble encountered during assembly and testing of InSight's seismometer instrument. Mars launch window's come every 26 months, so the next opportunity for InSight's liftoff opens May 5.

With the successful outcome of Monday's flight readiness review, United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 team and InSight engineers planned a final countdown dress rehearsal Tuesday. Final closeouts and cleaning of the InSight spacecraft are also planned early this week to ensure the probe meets NASA's planetary protection requirements, aimed at reducing the risk that the mission will carry microbes and other organic contamination from Earth to the Martian surface.

A launch readiness review scheduled for Thursday will assess the status of the Atlas 5 rocket, the InSight spacecraft, and ground tracking systems provided by NASA and the U.S. Air Force.

If the launch readiness review gives a green light to proceed, the Atlas 5 countdown will commence Friday evening, with retraction of the launch pad's mobile gantry scheduled shortly before midnight, local time.

Officials are hopeful for clear skies during Saturday's predawn launch window, and a clear view of the launch without the envelope of ground fog that often forms at Vandenberg Air Force Base, which is located on the Pacific coast northwest of Los Angeles.

"I hope we can put on a good show," Banerdt said. "I'm hoping we have some decent conditions to actually see the launch, and not just hear it out through the fog somewh ere."

InSight is the first mission to another planet to launch from Vandenberg, which typically hosts launches of satellites into polar orbit for Earth-imaging and communications.

NASA's previous interplanetary probes have historically launched from Cape Canaveral, using momentum provided by Earth's rotation for a velocity boost toward the east. But InSight is light enough that the Atlas 5 rocket will have plenty of reserve capability to send the probe toward Mars without the help from Earth's rotation.

Once it arrives on Mars in November, InSight will place its seismic instrument on the planet's surface to listen for quakes, and a heat sensor will burrow to a depth of nearly 16 feet, or about 5 meters, to measure thermal energy coming from the Martian interior.

Scientists hope to learn more about the planet's internal structure and composition, and use that information to refine their understanding of how rocky planets like Earth and Mars formed 4.5 billion years ago at the birth of the solar system.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 4 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/991623859735482368)

Our 18th trip to Mars, but we just never get tired of going...

ЦитироватьThomas Zurbuchen‏Подлинная учетная запись @Dr_ThomasZ (https://twitter.com/Dr_ThomasZ) 18 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/Dr_ThomasZ/status/991431795525734400)

Mars will make its closest approach to Earth since 2003 on July 27, which is why we're launching @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) there on May 5. If you look in the morning sky this month, you might even see Mars. Get the details on that & other things you can see this May: https://go.nasa.gov/2HL4c1k  (https://t.co/FTAtaBeAlr)

ЦитироватьMarc Leatham‏ @quarkmarc (https://twitter.com/quarkmarc) 23 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/quarkmarc/status/991374773862023170)

The internal guts of MarCO, the first interplanetary #Cubesat (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubesat?src=hash). Leaves Earth this weekend!

ЦитироватьNASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) сейчас4 минуты назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/991753492304932864)


DYK: @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) will be the 1st interplanetary launch from the West Coast? All of @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA)'s interplanetary launches have been from FL, the physics of launching off the East Coast are better for journeys to other planets. InSight will break the mold this Sat. by launching from CA.

ЦитироватьInSight Countdown to T-Zero: From the West Coast to the Red Planet

NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 2 мая 2018 г.

NASA's next Red Planet explorer has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California - a big step forward in the countdown to T-zero. The spacecraft is called InSight - short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport - and it's being tested, fueled and encapsulated for launch aboard the powerful United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The upcoming liftoff will mark the first time an interplanetary mission has launched from the West Coast.

ЦитироватьLaunch Weather 20 Percent 'Go' For Saturday

Stephanie Martin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/samarti9/)
Posted May 2, 2018 at 6:57 pm

Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing predict a 20 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket with NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft. The overall probability of violation will be 80 percent with the Range Safety constraint of launch visibility being the only area of concern.



The InSight launch is scheduled for Saturday, May 5, at 4:05 a.m. PDT/7:05 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California.

ЦитироватьKZLA
 
05/026 (A1020/18 ) - AIRSPACE DCC 2 ROPS DO-1806 ATLAS V STNR ALT
RESERVATION WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 3439N12038W TO 3440N12034W TO
3435N12027W TO 3317N11954W TO 3313N12002W TO POINT OF ORIGIN
SFC-UNL. 05 MAY 10:25 2018 UNTIL 05 MAY 13:27 2018. CREATED: 02 MAY 12:17 2018
 
05/032 (A1039/18 ) - AIRSPACE DCC 2 ROPS DO-1806 ATLAS V STNR ALT
RESERVATION WI AN AREA DEFINED AS 3439N12038W TO 3440N12034W TO
3435N12027W TO 3317N11954W TO 3313N12002W TO POINT OF ORIGIN SFC-UNL. 06 MAY
10:25 2018 UNTIL 06 MAY 13:27 2018. CREATED: 03 MAY 09:29 2018

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/992041483220828160)

Just 2 more days before I head to #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)! Tune in today at 1 pm PT, to hear the latest from my mission team: http://youtube.com/NASAJPL/live  (https://t.co/hl15lq4moK)

ЦитироватьNAVAREA XII 182/2018 (21)

EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 051010Z TO 051343Z MAY,
   ALTERNATE 1010Z TO 1343Z DAILY 06 THRU 08 MAY
   IN AREA BOUND BY
   15-46N 110-30W, 15-21N 111-33W,
   18-43N 113-02W, 19-09N 111-57W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 081443Z MAY 18.

( 300350Z APR 2018 )

ЦитироватьLive coverage: InSight set for Saturday launch from California to Mars
May 3, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

05/03/2018 17:43 Stephen Clark

The first weather outlook for Saturday's launch of the InSight lander from California to Mars indicates just a 20 percent probability of favorable weather at Vandenberg Air Force Base, the Atlas 5 rocket's launch site on the Pacific coast northwest of Los Angeles.

Forecasters are concerned about the range safety constraint of launch visibility, NASA said in an update on the launch.

Launch is scheduled for a two-hour window opening at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT). If the mission can't take off Saturday, InSight has until June 8 to depart from Earth during this year's Mars launch opportunity. We have posted a list of launch windows for each day here (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/24/atlas-5-insight-launch-windows/).

ЦитироватьInSight Prelaunch Briefing Live Today, May 3

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/lherridg/)
Posted May 3, 2018 at 11:21 am



With only two days remaining until the scheduled launch of NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft, launch and mission managers will hold a prelaunch briefing today, May 3, at 4 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. PDT) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Watch the InSight Prelaunch Briefing live on NASA TV at www.nasa.gov/nasalive (http://www.nasa.gov/nasalive).

Спойлер

Prelaunch briefing participants are:

[/li]
• Jim Green, chief scientist, NASA
• Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
• Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for the InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales
• Philippe Lognonné, InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France
• Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight
• Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL
• Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
• Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA's Launch Services Program
• Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches
• Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg
• 1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing
  

Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 30th Space Wing predict a 20 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight spacecraft. The overall probability of violation will be 80 percent with the Range Safety constraint of launch visibility being the only area of concern. Launch is scheduled for Saturday, May 5 at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT) from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьAtlas V InSight: Designing the Trajectory

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 3 мая 2018 г.

Jen Krupp, ULA flight design engineer for the InSight mission to Mars, talks about working on the first interplanetary mission to launch from the West Coast of the U.S.

ЦитироватьStephen Clark‏ @StephenClark1 (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1) 12 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/992123786404052992)

Arrived at Vandenberg for InSight briefings. Just ran into Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator, who tells me the launch readiness review went well this morning. He feels the mission is in good hands for launch aboard an Atlas 5 rocket. More nervous about landing on Mars

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 9 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992019666422841344)

Let's go to Mars. #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьInSight Countdown to T-Zero, Episode 2: Into the Fairing

NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 3 мая 2018 г.

The launch campaign heats up for NASA's InSight spacecraft and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Mars-bound probe is secured inside its protective payload fairing, then moved overnight to the launch pad, where it's lifted into position atop the waiting Atlas V. Also on board are two small communications-relay satellites - MarCO-A and MarCO-B - intended to become the first CubeSats to venture into deep space.

ЦитироватьNASAJPL Live: InSight Launch Week

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Трансляция началась 2 часа назад

ЦитироватьInSight Prelaunch Briefing

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 4 мая 2018 г.

InSight, the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast, is targeted to launch at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) on May 5 from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The agency hosted a prelaunch briefing on May 3 at VAFB.
Presenters included:

Jim Green, NASA chief scientist
Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
Stu Spath, InSight program manager at Lockheed Martin Space, Denver
Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California
Annick Sylvestre-Baron, deputy project manager for InSight seismometer investigation at France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales, Paris
Philippe Lognonné - InSight seismometer investigation lead at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France
Tilman Spohn, investigation lead at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3), an instrument on InSight, Berlin
Andrew Klesh, MarCO chief engineer at JPL Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
Tim Dunn, launch director with NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Scott Messer, ULA program manager for NASA launches, Centennial, Colorado
Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Central California
1st Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer for the 30th Space Wing

ЦитироватьInSight Teams Proceed Toward Launch May 5

Stephanie Martin (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/samarti9/)
Posted May 3, 2018 at 8:55 pm



The InSight mission and launch teams today concluded a successful Launch Readiness Review. There are no technical issues being worked at this time. Teams are proceeding for liftoff on Saturday, May 5, at 4:05 a.m. PDT/7:05 a.m. EDT on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) spacecraft. The launch will be the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast.

A marine layer fog is expected over the launch pad and will reduce visibility on launch day to 3/4 – 1 1/2 miles. This Range Safety constraint of launch visibility is the only area of concern. The 30th Space Wing weather officer indicated the launch visibility requirement may be waived by Range Safety pending confirmation that all ground telemetry systems are operational during the countdown.

All other range safety constraints have a zero probability of violation.

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 11 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992229036343681025)

The new @NASA (https://twitter.com/NASA) Mars probe, @NASAInsight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight), is scheduled for launch at 1105 UTC May 5. It will enter a 185 x 185 km x 63.5 deg parking orbit and then be boosted to a C3=8.2 km2/s2 escape trajectory, passing lunar orbit 30 hours after launch

11 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992233584768544774)

Insight will leave the Earth-Moon system on May 10 to enter a 1.0 x 1.4 AU solar orbit inclined 2.3 deg to the ecliptic. It will enter Mars' Hill sphere on Nov 22 and land on Nov 26.

Цитировать05/04/2018 05:40 Stephen Clark

Launch officials do not expect a layer of fog expected during Saturday's two-hour launch window to prevent liftoff of NASA's InSight spacecraft from California's Central Coast on the way to Mars.

The official weather outlook issued today from the 30th Space Wing calls for an 80 percent chance of violating range safety constraints related to visibility during the launch of the InSight spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. But Col. Michael Hough, commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, said the launch team has other ways of meeting the visibility requirement.

Спойлер

"We have a lot of things that monitor the rocket, and if one of those things should fail and ... we have to have visibility from a safety standpoint, then the Air Force would say, yes, now we have to have visibility," Hough said in a pre-launch briefing with reporters and launch guests Thursday.

Nevertheless, the fog in the forecast during the InSight mission's two-hour launch window Saturday, which opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT), could spoil the view for spectators in the area.

"I'm saying there's an 80 percent chance you will not be able to see the rocket launch at liftoff," said Lt. Kristina Williams, weather officer at the 30th Space Wing.

Members of the public looking for the rocket from farther away, such as in Los Angeles, may have better luck once the Atlas 5 clears the low-altitude fog layer, which is expected around 200 to 600 feet above the launch pad.

Fog is common at Vandenberg and typically does not prevent launches.

The official weather outlook issued Thursday predicts a shallow marine layer over the Atlas 5 launch pad, visibility of one-half to one mile, northerly winds of 7 to 10 knots, and a temperature in the lower 50s Fahrenheit.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьAtlas V InSight Mission Profile

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 4 мая 2018 г.

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Во сколько старт по московскому времени?

ЦитироватьNASA_EDGE‏ @NASA_EDGE (https://twitter.com/NASA_EDGE) 23 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_EDGE/status/992115573134970885)

We are getting closer to the rollback of the Mobile Service Tower that protects @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) Atlas V launch vehicle and @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight). Check out our InSight Rollback show on May 5 form 2:30 - 3:00 am EDT on NASA TV and Facebook Live (http://www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan  (https://t.co/yTzWbzNKkd)). #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) #NASASocial (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASASocial?src=hash)

ЦитироватьMAY 3, 2018
NASA's First Mission to Study the Interior of Mars Awaits May 5 Launch

(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/2018/the-insight-lander)

All systems are go for NASA's next launch to the Red Planet.

The early-morning liftoff on Saturday of the Mars InSight lander will mark the first time in history an interplanetary launch will originate from the West Coast. InSight will launch from the U.S. Air Force Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 3E. The two-hour launch window will open on May 5 at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT).

Спойлер

InSight, for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. InSight will study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all rocky planets formed, including Earth and its Moon. The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes, and a probe that will monitor the flow of heat from the planet's interior.

The ULA rocket will carry the spacecraft over the Channel Islands just off the California Coast and continue climbing out over the Pacific, shadowing the coastline south beyond Baja California. InSight's Atlas will reach orbit about 13 minutes after launch, when the rocket is about 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) northwest of Isabella Island, Ecuador.

"For those Southern Californians who are interested in rockets or space exploration, or have insomnia, we hope to put on a great show this Saturday," said Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "But for those who want to sleep in on Saturday, there will be another opportunity to engage with this historic mission. We will be landing on Mars in the western Elysium Planitia region on Monday, Nov. 26, around noon Pacific time. You will be able to watch a live stream of this landing while working on your holiday shopping."

[свернуть]

Getting a Mars mission flying requires a great many milestones. Among those still to come are the official start of the countdown to launch -- which comes on Friday, May 4 at 10:14 p.m. PDT (Saturday, May 5, 1:14 a.m. EDT). A little over an hour later, at about 11:30 p.m. PDT (May 5, 2:30 a.m. EDT), the 260-foot-tall (80-meter) Mobile Service Tower -- a structure that has been protecting the Atlas V launch vehicle and its InSight payload during their vertical assembly -- will begin a 20-minute long, 250-foot (about 80-meter) roll away from the Atlas. Four hours and 25 minutes later, the launch window will open.

Спойлер

"I've been to several rocket launches, but it is a whole different vibe when there is something you've been working on for years sitting in the nose cone waiting to get hurled beyond our atmosphere," said Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL. "But as exciting as launch day will be, it's just a first step in a journey that should tell us not only why Mars formed the way it did, but how planets take shape in general."

InSight's launch period is May 5 through June 8, 2018, with multiple launch opportunities over windows of approximately two hours each date. Launch opportunities are set five minutes apart during each date's window. Whichever date the launch occurs, InSight's landing on Mars is planned for Nov. 26, 2018, around noon PST (3 p.m. EST).

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida provides launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA's launch service provider of the Atlas 5 rocket. A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. In particular, CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar Systems Research (MPS). DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьAll systems go for launch of InSight, a mission to reveal the inside of Mars
May 4, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


Artist's illustration of the InSight spacecraft on the surface of Mars. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Scientists eager for answers to long-standing questions about the geology of Mars will get a lift Saturday with the blastoff fr om California of an Atlas 5 rocket with NASA's InSight mission, a robotic landing craft that will take the pulse and temperature of the red planet.

With two experimental deep space communications relay CubeSats riding along, the InSight spacecraft and the Atlas 5 rocket are scheduled for liftoff at 4:05 a.m. EDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT) Saturday from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Спойлер

InSight's arrival at Mars is fixed on Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, when the robot will plunge into the Martian atmosphere, using a combination of a supersonic parachute and braking rockets to touch down with the aid of three shock-absorbing landing legs in Elysium Planitia, a broad equatorial plain with few boulders or craters that could pose a hazard during the spacecraft's final descent.

Once on the Martian surface, InSight will unfurl solar arrays and place two instruments on the ground using a robotic arm to listen for tremors and measure the heat flow coming from the planet's super-heated interior.

"In this mission, we'll probe the interior of another terrestrial planet, giving us an idea of the size of the core, the mantle, and the crust, and our ability to then compare that to the Earth," said Jim Green, NASA's newly-appointed chief scientist, and former head of the space agency's planetary science division. "This is of fundamental importance for us to understand the origin of the solar system, and how it became the way it did today."

"The goal of InSight is nothing less than to better understand the birth of the Earth, the birth of the planet we live on, and we're going to do that by going to Mars," said Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Saturday's predawn launch will be the first time a mission to another planet has left Earth from Vandenberg, the primary launch base on the West Coast.

The 188-foot-tall (57-meter) Atlas 5 rocket, built by United Launch Alliance, will initially send the InSight spacecraft toward the south-southeast over the Pacific Ocean, with the booster stage's kerosene-fueled RD-180 engine generating around 860,000 pounds of thrust. The Atlas 5's Centaur upper stage will ignite its RL10 main engine, burning a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, two times to place InSight into low Earth orbit, then hurl the science probe toward Mars.

The Centaur upper stage will release the 1,530-pound (694-kilogram) InSight spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, around 93 minutes after liftoff. Two briefcase-sized interplanetary CubeSats, part of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Cube One technology demonstration mission, will spring out of carriers on the Centaur stage moments later to chart their own path toward the red planet.


The InSight spacecraft is cocooned inside the Atlas 5 rocket's payload fairing. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The twin Mars Cube One, or MarCO, nanospacecraft will become the first CubeSats to travel into interplanetary space, providing a radio relay capability to beam telemetry from InSight directly to Earth as the lander drops into the Martian atmosphere.

But InSight does not need the MarCO CubeSats to make a safe landing. The entry, descent and landing maneuvers will be pre-programmed into InSight's on-board computer for the make-or-break arrival at Mars in November.

A blanket of fog forecast at the Vandenberg launch site early Saturday may inhibit viewing of the Atlas 5's climb into space from nearby observation posts, but the reduced visibility is not likely to prevent liftoff, officials said Thursday.

The Air Force levies a constraint for favorable visibility during an Atlas 5 launch to meet range safety requirements, but Air Force officials said they have workarounds to gather data on the rocket's trajectory after liftoff with other tracking assets. The fog would only become a problem if the other range safety capabilities were offline.

Ground crews at the SLC-3E launch pad, perched on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean, will switch on the Atlas 5's avionics late Friday for pre-flight checks, then retract the towering mobile gantry shortly before midnight, Pacific time, to reveal the rocket on its launch mount.

The launch team will load cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants into the two-stage Atlas 5 rocket during the final hours of the countdown.

A final pre-planned hold in the countdown is scheduled at T-minus 4 minutes, giving managers time to complete final polls of the launch team before clocks resume at 4:01 a.m. PDT (7:01 a.m. EDT; 1101 GMT).


The InSight spacecraft pictured shortly before its enclosure inside the Atlas 5's payload fairing. The spacecraft is pictured here in cruise configuration, inside an aeroshell and heat shield. Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing

InSight has launch opportunities available every five minutes during Saturday's two-hour launch window. If technical or weather concerns prohibit liftoff Saturday, the mission has launch dates available through June 8, and still reach Mars on Nov. 26.

See our list of InSight's launch windows (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/24/atlas-5-insight-launch-windows/) through June 18.

NASA's 20 previous Mars missions have all departed from Cape Canaveral, taking advantage of Earth's rotation by launching toward the east. The extra momentum gives rockets an additional boost.

Vandenberg Air Force Base is typically host to launches into polar orbit, a type of orbit usually tailored for climate research missions, spy satellites and some communication applications.

But InSight is small, with a mass well below the lift capability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, which will fly in its basic "401" configuration with a four-meter payload fairing and no solid rocket boosters.

That means the Atlas 5 will not need the extra energy imparted during an eastward launch from Cape Canaveral, and ULA and NASA agreed to launch InSight from Vandenberg. The launch contractor proposed to base the mission from the West Coast because fewer Atlas 5 missions are scheduled from Vandenberg, so officials wanted to reduce the workload at ULA's busier launch base in Florida.

"There's one optimal launch time per day in order to get to Mars," said Jen Krupp, a ULA flight design engineer. "While there may be on optimal launch time, we can achieve a two-hour launch window by steering slightly more inefficiently toward the edges of the optimal time in order to still hit the same target."

The final burn of the Centaur upper stage will give InSight enough speed to escape the bonds of Earth's gravity, sending the spacecraft into the solar system on a trajectory mimicking the course the mission would have followed if launched from Florida.

"I use the baseball analogy for this one," Krupp said. "From Florida, the baseball pitcher is throwing sidearm. they're going on an easterly trajectory going toward Mars, and they're throwing sidearm. For InSight, we're going to fly southerly in a polar mission, and (as) we come over the north pole, the pitcher is throwing overhand and releasing the spacecraft to Mars."

To complete the analogy, sidearm and overhand pitchers can both deliver the baseball to a narrow strike zone 60 feet away. In InSight's case, the Atlas 5 can deliver the lander to Mars from either coast.

Designers based the InSight lander on NASA's Phoenix probe, which launched in August 2007 and touched down on the northern polar plains of Mars in May 2008. Diminishing solar power and cold temperatures limited Phoenix's lifetime to about five months — two months longer than its three-month prime mission.

InSight will head for a broad plain near the Martian equator with ample sunlight year-round, providing enough warmth and solar power to keep the mission operating for nearly two years, or a little more than one Martian year, and potentially much longer.


A map of the landing sites for all of NASA's Mars landers. Credit: NASA

Assuming the mission takes off Saturday, InSight will embark on a 301-million mile (485-million-kilometer) journey. Several course-correction maneuvers are planned during the trip, setting up for InSight's fiery descent through the Martian atmosphere.

Employing a similar entry, descent and landing profile as the Phoenix mission a decade ago, InSight will approach the target landing zone in Elysium Planitia, with its heat shield absorbing blistering temperatures up to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit, before unfurling a parachute and firing downward-facing rocket thrusters to settle to a gentle touchdown.

Mission managers sel ected the nearly featureless landing target because of its safety. There are few surface hazards that could spell doom for InSight, and Banerdt, the mission's chief scientist, calls it the "biggest parking lot on Mars."

InSight was originally supposed to launch in March 2016, but problems sealing a vacuum enclosure containing one of the lander's primary instruments, a French-developed seismometer, forced officials to postpone the mission. Mars launch opportunities come once every 26 months, when the planets are in the proper positions in the solar system, so the next chance to send InSight to the red planet opens Saturday.

Engineers redesigned the vacuum enclosure to eliminate an air leak in a feed-through, or wiring interface, used route data between the seismic sensors inside the instrument and electronics and communications equipment aboard the InSight spacecraft.

The protective enclosure keeps out wind and other environmental conditions that could disrupt the sensitive seismic measurements. It must keep a seal through the large day-and-night temperature swings on Mars.

"One of these feed-throughs was not capable of maintaining itself through the large temperature extremes," Banerdt said. "When we actually tested at Mars conditions going down to minus 100 or minus 120 degrees Celsius (minus 148 to minus 184 degrees Fahrenheit), it developed a very tiny crack and started leaking — started allowing some air to come in.

"This was enough to upset the whole apple cart in terms of the sensitivity of the seismometer," Banerdt said.

JPL took over responsibility for fabricating a new enclosure, while the French space agency, CNES, remained in charge of the instrument's internal sensors.

The seismometer is now healthy, its enclosure sealed, and is ready for launch. The InSight spacecraft itself, along with a German-built heat probe sensor and the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, were all in position at Vandenberg for the March 2016 launch when NASA managers decided in December 2015 to keep the mission on the ground.

The two-year delayed added roughly $150 million to InSight's cost, which now sits at more than $993 million, including launch and operations expenses. That figure includes an investment valued at approximately $180 million from the French and German space agencies.

The twin MarCO spacecraft cost another $18.5 million, according to NASA.


InSight's solar panels deployed during a ground test. Credit: Lockheed Martin

One of InSight's first jobs will be to take panoramic pictures to survey the landing site, a region unexplored by past Mars missions. InSight carries cameras based on technology originally developed for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, but with added capability for color imagery.

A nearly 8-foot-long (2.4-meter) robotic arm will place the seismometer and heat probe on the Martian surface next to the lander after touchdown. InSight's robotic arm was originally built for the canceled Mars Surveyor lander that was supposed to launch in 2001.

Other leftover parts on InSight include a landing radar originally built as a spare for the Phoenix mission, and surplus structural booms from the Curiosity rover repurposed for a Spanish-built weather station on InSight to collect temperature and wind data.

Once placed on the surface of Mars, the German-made Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, know as HP3, will hammer to a depth of 16 feet, or 5 meters, a process expected to take around six weeks with roughly 10,000 individual hammer blows, accounting for several planned pauses to allow the instrument to record thermal conductivity measurements.

"If you have an astronaut on the planet, you can do this in maybe 20 minutes or half an hour," Banerdt said of the heat flow experiment. "But if you want to do it robotically, you have to get a little bit more clever."

The metallic mole will probe deeper into the Martian crust than any past lander.

"We think this remote probe can actually go down about 15 feet, which gives us a better baseline to measure the temperature increase with depth and be able to estimate the amount of heat coming out of Mars," Banerdt said.

"And that amount of heat is tied to the geological activity of the planet. It's the heat engine of the planet that drives volcanism, it drives tectonic activity, it drives mountain-building. So all the geological processes that happen on a planet are driven by its heat engine, and we want to measure sort of the vigor of that heat engine."

"We switch on the temp sensors and record the temperature over depth and time for up to two years," said Tilman Spohn, HP3 investigation lead from DLR, the German Aerospace Center, in Berlin. "Taking the temperature gradient, or the rate at which the temperature increases (with depth), gives us the heat flow. Very simple and straightforward, but as planetary science often is, very difficult. The devil is in the details."

The seismometer will get to work listening for marsquakes.

"Sensitive is really an understatement," Banerdt said of the seismometer. "Tt's an exquisitely sensitive device for measuring the motion of the ground. And when we talk about motion, we're talking about vibrations that have an amplitude comparable to the size of an atom.

"These are waves that were generated, maybe, by a marsquake on the other side of the planet, have traveled all the way through the planet, getting their waveform modified as they go through the planet and picking up information about the deep interior structure, and then we are able to pick it up when it comes back up to the surface under the seismometer," Banerdt said.

The seismic sensors aboard InSight evolved from mission concepts in the 1990s and 2000s that would have dispatched multiple small probes to Mars, creating a global geophysical network. InSight will give scientists just one seismic station, but experts have developed techniques to glean information about the interior of Mars, even with a single seismometer.

Researchers have attempted seismic detections on Mars before, but seismometers on NASA's Viking landers in the 1970s provided inconclusive results. The instruments were mounted the decks of the landers, making them susceptible from interference from spacecraft vibrations and winds.

"Not only do you have to have a very sensitive device for measuring those motions but you have to protect it from everything else that might affect it," he said. "We have several different layers of protection, it's sort of like a Russian doll."

An electrical and data cable will connect the seismometer to the InSight lander.

Philippe Lognonné, head of the InSight seismic investigation team at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France, said scientists do not have a confirmed detection of marsquake, but evidence suggests weak tremors occur on the red planet.

"We have no clear data on seismic activity on the planet," Lognonné in an interview with Spaceflight Now. "We imagine it because we see faults on the surface. In some places, we have seen wh ere a boulder may have fallen down from a scarp. But again, we have no data."


One model for the interior structure of Mars. Credit: DLR

Lognonné said, based on existing theoretical models, the seismometer could register around 20 or 30 quakes per year, sensing ripples from all types of seismic waves moving through the planet.

"We cover all the seismic waves, and we even have sensitivity to tides, the Phobos tide especially," Lognonné said. "We cover all the signals to be generated by a quake."

Scientists will also measure Mars' polar wobble by analyzing radio signals transmitted between InSight and Earth-based antennas.

"By the timing of that signal, we can track the location of the spacecraft at Mars ... with an accuracy of something around a foot or so, maybe a little bit less," Banerdt said. "To me, that's the closest we can get to magic with science."

With that information, scientists can determine which way the Martian north pole is pointing as the planet rotates.

"Over the course of a year, we can watch the north pole wobble just a little bit because of the core sloshing around inside of the planet, and that will give us a very, very tight constraint on the size of that core and its density, and so its composition," Banerdt said. "That tells us the structure of Mars. The structure of Mars tells us something about the processes that put that structure together. We can put this into our mdoels, extrapolate it to Earth, and understand how the Earth formed four-and-half billion years ago."

Much of the ancient geologic record on Earth has eroded away, but Mars may still hold clues about how it was born, accreted rock and dust, and formed a hot, high-pressure mantle and core as heavier elements sunk deep beneath its surface.

"How we get fr om a ball of featureless rock into a planet that may or may not support life is a key question in planetary science," Banerdt said. "And these processes that do this all happen in the first tens of millions of years."

Discoveries made by InSight at Mars could inform scientists how the Earth formed and evolved.

"Mars is a smaller planet," Banerdt said. "It's less active than the Earth, so it has retained the fingerprints of those early processes in its basic structure — the thickness of the crust, the compositon of the mantle, the size and composition of its core," he said. "By mapping out these boundaries, these various different sections of the inside of the planet, we can then understand better how the planet formed, and how our planet got to be the way it is."

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьInSight NASA EDGE Live Webcast, Live Launch Coverage

Linda Herridge (https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/author/lherridg/)
Posted May 4, 2018 at 3:43 pm
(Posted May 4, 2018 at 4:39 pm)

Tune in for the following InSight launch activites:

NASA EDGE live webcast on NASA TV and social media, May 5, 2:30 a.m. EDT (May 4, 11:30 p.m. PDT)
NASA TV: www.nasa.gov/nasalive (http://www.nasa.gov/nasalive)
NASA EDGE Facebook: www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan (http://www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan)
NASA EDGE YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/NASAedge (http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAedge)
NASA EDGE Ustream: www.ustream.tv/nasaedge (http://www.ustream.tv/nasaedge)

Guests:

Спойлер

Jim Green, chief scientist, NASA
Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL
Suzanne Smrekar, InSight deputy principal investigator at JPL
Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at JPL
Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu, Mars InSight instrumentation deployment lead engineer at JPL
Joel Steinkraus, MarCO mechanical lead at JPL
Anne Marinan, MarCO systems engineer at JPL
Mic Woltman, chief, Fleet Systems Integration Branch, NASA's Launch Services Program

[свернуть]

InSight Live Launch Coverage on NASA TV, May 5, 6:30 a.m. EDT (3:30 a.m. PDT)
Watch the InSight live launch coverage on NASA TV at: www.nasa.gov/nasalive (http://www.nasa.gov/nasalive).

Спойлер

NASA's next mission to Mars – the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/insight/main/index.html) spacecraft (InSight) – is scheduled to launch as early as Saturday, May 5, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight's liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3 is targeted for 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT) at the opening of a two-hour launch window, making it also the first interplanetary mission to take off from the West Coast.

This is the third mission in the robust schedule for NASA's Launch Services Program (https://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/index.html) this year, launching six missions in just six months, with six different rocket configurations, from six launch sites.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьLaunch timeline for Atlas 5's mission with InSight
May 4, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to dispatch NASA's InSight lander toward Mars, kicking off an interplanetary journey from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The 188-foot-tall (57-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine, is set for liftoff during a two-hour launch window Saturday that opens at 4:05 a.m. EDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT).

Спойлер

The InSight mission will be the 78th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the fourth Atlas 5 launch of 2018.

The Atlas 5 rocket will lift off from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, flying in the "401" configuration with no solid rocket boosters and a four-meter-diameter payload fairing.

Read our mission preview story (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/04/all-systems-go-for-launch-of-insight-a-mission-to-reveal-the-inside-of-mars/) for details on the launch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_D85bjcdXE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_D85bjcdXE)
(video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_D85bjcdXE) 2:38 )


Credit: United Launch Alliance

T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff


After igniting its RD-180 main engine at T-minus 2.7 seconds, the Atlas 5 rocket climbs away from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with 860,000 pounds of thrust.

T+0:01:17.8: Mach 1


The Atlas 5 rocket exceeds the speed of sound, flying to the south-southeast from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

T+0:01:26.9: Max-Q


The Atlas 5 rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.

T+0:04:04.3: Booster Engine Cutoff


The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage.

T+0:04:10.3: Stage Separation


The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition.

T+0:04:20.3: Centaur Ignition 1


The Centaur RL10C-1 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and the InSight spacecraft into an initial parking orbit.

T+0:04:28.3: Payload Fairing Jettison


The Atlas 5's 4-meter-diameter (13-foot) payload fairing separates in a clamshell-like fashion once the rocket climbs into the rarefied upper atmosphere.

T+0:13:16.2: Centaur Cutoff 1


The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit. The vehicle enters a nearly 66-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+1:18:56.9:  Centaur Ignition 2


Producing 22,900 pounds of thrust, the Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the InSight payload with enough velocity to escape Earth's gravitational bond. This burn lasts 5 minutes, 23 seconds.

T+1:24:19.8: Centaur Cutoff 2


The second Centaur firing places the InSight payload on an Earth escape trajectory. After engine shutdown, the Centaur stage will begin re-orienting for deployment of InSight.

T+1:33:19.8: InSight Separation


The 1,530-pound (694-kilogram) InSight spacecraft deploys from the Centaur upper stage.

T+1:33:53.8: MarCO-A Separation


The first of NASA's Mars Cube One satellites, designed to relay communications from InSight during its landing on Mars, releases from an aft bulkhead carrier on the Centaur stage.

T+1:34:41.8: MarCO-B Separation


The second of NASA's Mars Cube One spacecraft is released from the Centaur's aft bulkhead carrier.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992654259572260864)

The Mobile Service Tower at Space Launch Complex-3 rolls back and the #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) with @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) begins to emerge.

Цитировать05/05/2018 10:23 Stephen Clark



The mobile service gantry has moved into launch position a short distance from the Atlas 5 rocket. Workers will now complete their final tasks before evacuating to a fallback position ahead of the start of cryogenic tanking.

ЦитироватьNASA HQ PHOTO‏Подлинная учетная запись @nasahqphoto (https://twitter.com/nasahqphoto) 38 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/nasahqphoto/status/992677156537946112)

The @NASAInsight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) Mars lander sits atop the @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) Atlas-V rocket! https://flic.kr/s/aHsmfca1Qy  (https://t.co/M2cbPOU2M8)

Цитировать05/05/2018 11:07 Stephen Clark

T-minus 2 hours, 30 minutes. Personnel are now departing the Atlas 5 launch pad as the countdown proceeds toward the start of cryogenic tanking.

ЦитироватьUpd ated: 05/05/2018 11:11 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 launch team is discussing a concern with a liquid oxygen topping valve, but engineers have identified a workaround that will allow the team to proceed with chilldown of the first stage's liquid oxygen propellant system using another se t of plumbing.

This is not expected to impact the launch.

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 15 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992684438189375488)

The #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) countdown has just entered a planned 15-minute hold ahead of the readiness poll for cryogenic fueling. This is the first of two planned holds in today's launch countdown.

Цитировать05/05/2018 11:35 Stephen Clark

T-minus 2 hours and holding. This is a pre-programmed hold expected to last 15 minutes.

Over the last few hours, the Atlas 5 was powered up and Centaur propellant system preparations have been completed, along with Atlas booster hydraulic and propulsion preps. The rocket's GPS metric tracking system has also been tested.

During this 15-minute hold, the ULA launch team at Vandenberg Air Force Base will be polled for their readiness to pick up the countdown and begin cryogenic tanking of the Atlas booster and Centaur upper stage.

The countdown's final pre-planned pause is scheduled for T-minus 4 minutes.

Цитировать05/05/2018 11:40 Stephen Clark

The pad team has evacuated Space Launch Complex 3-East in preparation for fueling the Atlas 5 rocket with cryogenic propellants.

ЦитироватьNASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 13 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/992685644202856449)

NASA Launch Manager, Tim Dunn, has conducted the #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) Insight cryogenic tanking poll. The NASA team is GO for cryogenic tanking.

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992687633406070784)

The ULA team has confirmed readiness to begin cryogenic fueling operations. The countdown will resume shortly. #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight)

Цитировать
(https://www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan/?ref=nf&hc_ref=ARSNAkLekQNtkMLNLR4sjw0Xwn-COI0EW-jg7aubDKtLdbc4xyi8O7L6wIOZlR0EZ7k)NASA EDGE (https://www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan/?hc_ref=ARRNXLM4QtvYuh3CaiPzTw681wPRM6W40wll5Xx5_-yWadvfbQPZPTMqkXeIh7mTius) был(-а) в прямом эфире.
2 ч (https://www.facebook.com/nasaedgefan/videos/2020771424632127/) · 

NASA EDGE: Mars InSight Rollback Show

https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.9040-29/10000000_1523904314402203_1796756382385438720_n.mp4?_nc_cat=0&efg=eyJybHIiOjcyMywicmxhIjo0MDk2LCJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InNkIn0%3D&rl=723&vabr=402&oh=c0587baed8f84dc44590072bad2b5981&oe=5AEDA47B (https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t42.9040-29/10000000_1523904314402203_1796756382385438720_n.mp4?_nc_cat=0&efg=eyJybHIiOjcyMywicmxhIjo0MDk2LCJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6InNkIn0%3D&rl=723&vabr=402&oh=c0587baed8f84dc44590072bad2b5981&oe=5AEDA47B)

ЦитироватьNASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 7 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/992690310441590784)

T-1hr 50min and counting. Active with #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) liquid oxygen chilldown and tanking.

Цитировать05/05/2018 12:08 Stephen Clark

Chilldown conditioning of the systems for the first stage liquid oxygen tank have been accomplished. The launch team just gave a "go" to begin loading super-cold liquid oxygen into the Atlas 5's first stage

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992699148918050819)

Right now, the launch team is NOT working any technical issues that would prevent an on time launch. However, the weather prediction says there is an 80% chance of violation due to fog. Welcome to Vandenberg. So think good, clear thoughts, all. #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash)

Цитировать05/05/2018 12:41 Stephen Clark

Chilldown conditioning of the Centaur liquid hydrogen system has been completed. The ULA launch team has been given approval to begin pumping the cryogenic fuel into the Centaur upper stage, which will receive around 12,300 gallons of liquid hydrogen.

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992702961687171084)

The countdown has reached T-1hr. We are 1hr 15mins away from the opening of today's launch window. There will be a planned built-in hold at the T-4min mark. #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)

ЦитироватьWilliam Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/992703343062667264)

A5/InSight: Centaur liquid oxygen now at flight level; liquid hydrogen at 30 percent; countdown proceeding normally

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992704324399644677)

Flight Controls starting final prep's #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьNASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 1 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/992704988525793280)

#InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) will be launching to Mars atop a United Launch Alliance #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) in the 401 configuration: 4 meter Large Payload Fairing, 0 Solid Rocket Boosters, and 1 RL10C-1 engine.

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 4 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992707111665709057)

A reminder of our launch weather issue. Atlas V Launch Commit Criteria states that there must be visibility at the ground of 4 miles or greater to launch. If it's foggy, you're in violation of that. That's our big concern for today. #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 24 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992708274372964352)

Final checks of the Atlas V Flight Termination System (FTS) are now underway. #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 1 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992708218395725825)

#AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) with @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) looms large as we count down to liftoff at 4:05amPDT. Live broadcast at 3:30amPDT, http://bit.ly/av_insight  (https://t.co/m38OSTK0uR)

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 41 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992709006186688513)

According to source on the ground, Vandenberg Range has just gone GREEN (or "GO" ) on the visibility requirement for launch. That's big. Weather could be tracking in the right direction for us today. #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 15 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992709982511546368)

Mighty Atlas is feeling good this morning. The board is green. #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 37 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992710424964419585)

Visibility req now officially waived. Fog no longer an issue. #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьНАСА ТВ - https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

NASA TV Public-Education - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwMDvPCGeE0

NASAJPL Live: InSight Launch Week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4_JNAFClFk

Цитировать05/05/2018 13:24 Stephen Clark

The Atlas 5 rocket is now fully fueled for launch, with a load of RP-1 kerosene and liquid hydrogen fuel, plus liquid oxygen.

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 2 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992714812105875456)

Latest forecast shows a 100% chance of favorable weather for liftoff at 4:05amPDT. All weather constraints are go for #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight)!

ЦитироватьSpaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow) 3 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/992718257550311425)

Engineers are studying a series of alarms noted during the Atlas 5 countdown a few minutes ago. As of now, liftoff from California's Central Coast remains set for 4:05am PDT (7:05am EDT; 1105 GMT) with the InSight spacecraft going to Mars.

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 5 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992718222821543936)

Working a technical issue with data feeds.

ЦитироватьWilliam Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews) 52 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/992719858386292736)

A5/InSight: Switch config issue has been resolved; engineers verifying

ЦитироватьULA‏Подлинная учетная запись @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) 21 сек. назад (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/992720899555119104)

We are GO! for launch for @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) on a ULA #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash). On track for 4:05amPDT liftoff. Watch live http://bit.ly/av_insight  (https://t.co/m38OSTK0uR)

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 2 мин.2 назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992720821184581634)

T-4mins and COUNTING! #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)

ЦитироватьNASA's InSight launched by Atlas V 401

SciNews (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjU6ZwoTQtKWfz1urL7XcbA)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

ЦитироватьChris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) 28 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/992722176167088129)

LAUNCH! ULA's Atlas V launches with InSight to Mars! Follow Along Live: https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=38893.200 ... (https://t.co/sPQdRYvjzt)

ЦитироватьNASA_LSP‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_LSP (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP) 9 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_LSP/status/992728505631854593)

We are now in a ~1 hour coast before Main Engine Start 2, which will be a ~5 minute burn before Main Engine Cut Off 2. This will be followed by InSight separation and the MarCO separations. #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Меня пугает когда вместо победных реляций показывают говорящие головы.

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 27 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992725354157625344)

Centaur in parking orbit 185 x 185 km x 64.0 deg!

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 32 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992725627966017536)


Note that the ULA webcast onscreen figures change from statute miles to nautical miles once it starts showing perigee and apogee. Sigh...

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 6 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992733163880374272)

Apparently the MarCO A and B cubesats are nicknamed Wall-E and Eva. I believe these are unofficial team nicknames rather than official NASA names for them.

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 36 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/992729490039148544)

After the main engine cutoff we reach what's called my "parking orbit" around Earth. See launch blog: http://go.nasa.gov/2w20vTJ  (https://t.co/50dnoQSHB8)

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 23 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992739417990287360)

The two MarCO cubesats use eight cold gas thrusters with only 25 milliNewton thrust each. The propellant is R236FA hydrofluorocarbon gas, often used as a refrigerant. I have no idea exactly what R236FA is.

ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 5 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/992747876970217472)

128

ЦитироватьChris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF) 8 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/ChrisG_NSF/status/992750628123357184)

YES! And the ground teams are receiving signals from InSight as expected! #NASA (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASA?src=hash) #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch) #AtlasV (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AtlasV?src=hash) #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)

ЦитироватьСтарый (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/13420/) пишет:
Когда ожидается прибытие?

ЦитироватьInSight & MarCO on the way to Mars

SciNews (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjU6ZwoTQtKWfz1urL7XcbA)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

ЦитироватьLaunch of NASA's InSight Mars Lander on Atlas V 401

Space Videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdF5d0UwSJJunRcRVzP1uDg)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

ЦитироватьNASA Launches InSight to Mars (part 1)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Трансляция началась 3 часа назад

ЦитироватьNASA Launches InSight to Mars (Part 2)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Трансляция началась 1 час назад

ЦитироватьLaunch of Atlas V 401 Rocket with Mars Insight Mission

Space Videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdF5d0UwSJJunRcRVzP1uDg)

Трансляция началась 4 часа назад

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 13 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992765038556573703)

Insight passes the geostationary belt in about 25 minutes. Will be at 20 deg south lat so not a risk to (or from) the equatorial GEO sats.

ЦитироватьInSight Headed for Mars Following Launch on Atlas V

Anna Heiney (https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/author/aheiney/)
Posted May 5, 2018 at 10:10 am

(https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/wp-content/uploads/sites/246/2018/05/insight_liftoff_distance.jpg)
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket rises above a layer of thick fog blanketing central California during liftoff from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The Atlas V carried NASA's InSight spacecraft, which is embarking on a mission to land on Mars and study the planet's interior. Liftoff was at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT). Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

NASA's InSight (https://www.nasa.gov/insight) spacecraft successfully launched Saturday, May 5, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California took place at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT), the mission's earliest launch opportunity. Also on board were two CubeSats, together called Mars Cube One (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php), or MarCO, a technology demonstration.

ЦитироватьLiftoff of InSight

NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lifts off at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface. It will study the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listen for marsquakes. The spacecraft will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet's deep interior. The resulting insight into Mars' formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created.

ЦитироватьInterview with NASA Launch Director

NASAKennedy (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjJtr2fFcUp6yljzJOzpHUg)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

Following the successful liftoff of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander, Launch Director Tim Dunn speaks with Tori McLendon of NASA Communications.

ЦитироватьUnited Launch Alliance Successfully Launches West Coast's First Interplanetary Mission for NASA

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., (May 5, 2018 ) – A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight Mars lander lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 on May 5 at 4:05 a.m. PDT. InSight is the first mission launched to another planet from the West Coast, which requires more energy than an East Coast launch that takes advantage of the Earth's rotation. The West Coast Mars launch was made possible by the performance of the Atlas V and an optimized trajectory design to achieve the very exact hyperbolic injection required to deliver the spacecraft to Mars.

Спойлер

ULA and its heritage rockets have launched every U.S. spacecraft to the Red Planet since the 1960s, including Mars Science Lab, as well as the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. This was the 10th Mars launch on an Atlas rocket, and the fourth by the Atlas V following the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005, the Curiosity rover in 2011 and the MAVEN orbiter in 2013.

In addition to InSight, the mission included two CubeSats which launched from dispensers mounted on the aft bulkhead carrier on the Atlas V Centaur second stage.
The Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats, designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, are the first to travel interplanetary.
 
"ULA is proud to have been a key part of this mission to explore our universe and unlock possibilities in space that will benefit all of humankind," said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. "I want to express my sincerest thanks to the entire ULA team, NASA and all our partners and suppliers for their exceptional teamwork and dedication to another successful mission."

This mission was launched aboard an Atlas V 401 configuration vehicle, which includes a 4-meter Payload Fairing (PLF). The Atlas booster for this mission was powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine. Aerojet Rocketdyne provided the RL10C-1 engine for the Centaur upper stage.

This is the 78th launch of the Atlas V rocket, ULA's fifth launch in 2018 and the 128th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006.

ULA's next launch is the Parker Solar Probe mission for NASA on a Delta IV Heavy rocket. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than July 31 at Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

With more than a century of combined heritage, United Launch Alliance is the Nation's most experienced and reliable launch service provider. ULA has successfully delivered more than 125 satellites to orbit that aid meteorologists in tracking severe weather, unlock the mysteries of our solar system, provide critical capabilities for troops in the field and enable personal device-based GPS navigation.

[свернуть]

ЦитироватьATLAS V LAUNCHES FROM VANDENBERG
By 30th Space Wing Public Affairs, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs / Published May 05, 2018

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --
Team Vandenberg launched the NASA InSight Mission to Mars on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3E here, Saturday, May 5, at 4:05 a.m. PDT.

Col. Michael Hough, 30th Space Wing commander, was the space launch commander.

"This is our first interplanetary launch to Mars from Vandenberg and this launch not only garnered a lot of outside interest and attention but created many educational opportunities for the wing and our local communities," said Hough. "We appreciate NASA's enthusiasm and support that helped us all gain a better understanding of this particular mission we contributed to here at the wing. The entire launch team along with our mission partners to include United Launch Alliance, NASA and the Space and Missile Systems Center worked diligently to ensure that this launch was safe and successful."

ЦитироватьAtlas V NASA InSight Launch
30th Space Wing/Public Affairs
May 5, 2018 | 1:56

Team Vandenberg launched the NASA InSight Mission to Mars on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-3E at Vandenberg AFB, CA, Saturday, May 5, at 4:05 a.m. PDT

ЦитироватьVideo (https://scontent-arn2-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/735ce2bccbd6393fddf3af7c555abe54/5AEFDD54/t50.2886-16/31505343_390396438036754_7479393969244209152_n.mp4)
https://scontent-arn2-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/735ce2bccbd6393fddf3af7c555abe54/5AEFDD54/t50.2886-16/31505343_390396438036754_7479393969244209152_n.mp4 (https://scontent-arn2-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/735ce2bccbd6393fddf3af7c555abe54/5AEFDD54/t50.2886-16/31505343_390396438036754_7479393969244209152_n.mp4) (1:00)

ЦитироватьMAY 5, 2018
NASA, ULA Launch Mission to Study How Mars Was Made

(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/21803/insight-lifts-off-3)
(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/21803/insight-lifts-off-3)
INSIGHT LIFTS OFF 3
The NASA InSight spacecraft launches onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket, Saturday, May 5, 2018, fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to study the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA's Mars Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is on a 300-million-mile (483-million-kilometer) trip to Mars to study for the first time what lies deep beneath the surface of the Red Planet. InSight launched at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Спойлер

"The United States continues to lead the way to Mars with this next exciting mission to study the Red Planet's core and geological processes," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. "I want to congratulate all the teams from NASA and our international partners who made this accomplishment possible. As we continue to gain momentum in our work to send astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars, missions like InSight are going to prove invaluable."

First reports indicate the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket that carried InSight into space was seen as far south as Carlsbad, California, and as far east as Oracle, Arizona. One person recorded video of the launch (https://www.instagram.com/p/BiZNN9HFTV0/) from a private aircraft flying along the California coast.

Riding the Centaur second stage of the rocket, the spacecraft reached orbit 13 minutes and 16 seconds after launch. Sixty-one minutes later, the Centaur ignited a second time, sending InSight on a trajectory toward the Red Planet. InSight separated from the Centaur about 9 minutes later -- 93 minutes after launch -- and contacted the spacecraft via NASA's Deep Space Network at 5:41 a.m. PDT (8:41 a.m. EDT).

"The Kennedy Space Center and ULA teams gave us a great ride today and started InSight on our six-and-a-half-month journey to Mars," said Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We've received positive indication the InSight spacecraft is in good health and we are all excited to be going to Mars once again to do groundbreaking science."

With its successful launch, NASA's InSight team now is focusing on the six-month voyage. During the cruise phase of the mission, engineers will check out the spacecraft's subsystems and science instruments, making sure its solar arrays and antenna are oriented properly, tracking its trajectory and performing maneuvers to keep it on course.

InSight is scheduled to land on the Red Planet around 3 p.m. EST (noon PST) Nov. 26, wh ere it will conduct science operations until Nov. 24, 2020, which equates to one year and 40 days on Mars, or nearly two Earth years.

"Scientists have been dreaming about doing seismology on Mars for years. In my case, I had that dream 40 years ago as a graduate student, and now that shared dream has been lofted through the clouds and into reality," said Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator at JPL.

The InSight lander will probe and collect data on marsquakes, heat flow from the planet's interior and the way the planet wobbles, to help scientists understand what makes Mars tick and the processes that shaped the four rocky planets of our inner solar system.

"InSight will not only teach us about Mars, it will enhance our understanding of formation of other rocky worlds like Earth and the Moon, and thousands of planets around other stars," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency headquarters in Washington. "InSight connects science and technology with a diverse team of JPL-led international and commercial partners."

Previous missions to Mars investigated the surface history of the Red Planet by examining features like canyons, volcanoes, rocks and soil, but no one has attempted to investigate the planet's earliest evolution, which can only be found by looking far below the surface.

"InSight will help us unlock the mysteries of Mars in a new way, by not just studying the surface of the planet, but by looking deep inside to help us learn about the earliest building blocks of the planet," said JPL Director Michael Watkins.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis, and launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is NASA's launch service provider.

A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/seis/)) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen, Germany. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3 (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/hp3/)) instrument.

[свернуть]

Цитироватьtnt22 пишет:

ЦитироватьСтарый (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/13420/) пишет:
Когда ожидается прибытие?

22 ноября. Посадка 26-го

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 18 мин.18 минут назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992796070336978945)


Insight now 63,000 km above Earth

ЦитироватьUpdated: 05/05/2018 18:18 Stephen Clark

InSight is performing as expected after its launch this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, according to mission officials The early activities on-board the spacecraft including charging batteries and checkouts of the probe's attitude control system.

Meanwhile, the Mars Cube One nanospacecraft should be going through a pre-programmed activation sequence, in which the CubeSats power up automatically and deploy their power-generating solar panels. The first good opportunity to receive signals from the MarCO spacecraft will come around 12 p.m. PDT (3 p.m. EDT; 1900 GMT) through the Canberra station of NASA's Deep Space Network, according to Joel Steinkraus, MarCO's mechanical lead.

ЦитироватьPhotos: Mobile gantry retracted for launch of Atlas 5 rocket at Vandenberg
May 5, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)

Towering more than 20 stories tall, the 8-million-pound mobile gantry at the Atlas 5 rocket's launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, was retracted into position late Friday for liftoff of NASA's InSight mission to Mars.

The mobile service tower began moving into launch position around 11:30 p.m. PDT Friday (2:30 a.m. EDT; 0630 GMT), around four-and-a-half hours before the opening of InSight's predawn launch window.

These photos show the reveal of the 188-foot-tall (57-meter) United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket at Space Launch Complex 3-East. Spotlights were shined on the launcher soon after the gantry retracted.

Спойлер

Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now


Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now

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ЦитироватьAtlas V InSight Launch Highlights

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

ЦитироватьAfter foggy departure, it's clear sailing to Mars for InSight lander
May 5, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


A fog layer at Vandenberg Air Force Base prevented nearby observers fr om viewing the launch of NASA's InSight mission to Mars, but viewing points farther away from the launch site had clear skies. In this long exposure photo captured at Ventura, California. Credit: William G. Hartenstein

Making a fiery climb into a foggy sky Saturday over California's Central Coast, a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket dispatched NASA's InSight lander on a 301-million-mile voyage to Mars with a package of European-built instruments to probe the inside of the Red Planet.

The billion-dollar robotic mission took off at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT) Saturday from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, a secure military post northwest of Los Angeles that had never before hosted a launch to another planet.

Спойлер

A veil of fog flowed across Vandenberg and surrounding communities during the countdown, blocking views of the launch from observers who gathered to see the Atlas 5 rocket send the InSight mission to Mars. A rumble from the Atlas 5's main engine — producing 860,000 pounds of thrust — permeated the marine layer, but most nearby rocket-watchers did not glimpse the launcher's climb into space.

Powerful tracking cameras also had trouble following the Atlas 5, which disappeared into the fog a few seconds after liftoff. A long-rang infrared tracker stayed with the launcher, following the Atlas 5's four-minute first stage engine burn.

The launcher's Centaur upper stage took over the mission for two engine firings. The initial burn placed InSight into orbit around Earth, taking the interplanetary probe across the southern tip of South America, then north over the Indian Ocean east of Africa.

A second firing of the Centaur stage's hydrogen-fueled RL10 engine gave InSight the speed it needed to break away from the gravitational pull of Earth. After achieving escape velocity, the Centaur released the 1,530-pound (694-kilogram) InSight spacecraft at 5:38 a.m. PDT (8:38 a.m. EDT; 1238 GMT).

A few moments later, two briefcase-sized CubeSats designed and built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory deployed from a carrier on the Centaur's aft bulkhead. The twin Mars Cube One, or MarCO, nanospacecraft will demonstrate miniaturized satellite technology in deep space, and they became the first CubeSats to leave Earth orbit with Saturday's launch.

Ground controllers received the first signals from InSight through the Deep Space Network station at Goldstone, California, at 5:41 a.m. PDT (8:41 a.m. EDT; 1241 GMT), confirming the spacecraft was healthy following Saturday's climb into space.

The MarCO CubeSats were expected to radio their status to engineers on Earth later Saturday.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who took office April 23, called to congratulate the NASA and ULA launch team from the agency's headquarters in Washington.

"This is a big day," Bridenstine said. "We're going back to Mars. We did it from the West Coast, which is a first-ever.

"This is an extraordinary mission with a whole host of firsts," he said. "It's important for our country. It's also important for the world, and it really establishes American leadership in a lot of ways."


The Atlas 5 rocket carrying InSight lifts off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in a veil of fog. Credit: United Launch Alliance

InSight will conclude its 205-day interplanetary journey Monday, Nov. 26, with a dive into the Martian atmosphere. A thermal shield will protect the craft during descent, and a supersonic parachute and braking thrusters will slow InSight for a gentle touchdown at Elysium Planitia, an expansive equatorial plain that has not been visited by a previous spacecraft.

The MarCO CubeSats could provide a radio relay capability to beam telemetry from InSight directly to Earth as the lander drops into the Martian atmosphere. But InSight does not need the MarCO CubeSats to make a safe landing. The entry, descent and landing maneuvers will be pre-programmed into InSight's on-board computer for the make-or-break arrival at Mars in November.

Once on the Martian surface, InSight will unfurl solar arrays and place two instruments on the ground using a robotic arm to listen for tremors and measure the heat flow coming from the planet's super-heated interior.

"In this mission, we'll probe the interior of another terrestrial planet, giving us an idea of the size of the core, the mantle, and the crust, and our ability to then compare that to the Earth," said Jim Green, NASA's newly-appointed chief scientist, and former head of the space agency's planetary science division. "This is of fundamental importance for us to understand the origin of the solar system, and how it became the way it did today."

"The goal of InSight is nothing less than to better understand the birth of the Earth, the birth of the planet we live on, and we're going to do that by going to Mars," said Bruce Banerdt, InSight's principal investigator from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Before InSight, all of NASA's 20 previous Mars missions departed from Cape Canaveral, taking advantage of Earth's rotation by launching toward the east. The extra momentum gives rockets an additional boost.

Vandenberg Air Force Base is typically host to launches into polar orbit, a type of orbit usually tailored for climate research missions, spy satellites and some communication applications.

But InSight is small, with a mass well below the lift capability of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, which flew in its basic "401" configuration with a four-meter payload fairing and no solid rocket boosters.

That means the Atlas 5 did not need the extra energy imparted during an eastward launch from Cape Canaveral, and ULA and NASA agreed to launch InSight from Vandenberg. The launch contractor proposed to base the mission from the West Coast because fewer Atlas 5 missions are scheduled from Vandenberg, so officials wanted to reduce the workload at ULA's busier launch base in Florida.


InSight's solar panels are deployed during a ground test. Credit: Lockheed Martin

Designers based the InSight lander on NASA's Phoenix probe, which launched in August 2007 and touched down on the northern polar plains of Mars in May 2008. Diminishing solar power and cold temperatures limited Phoenix's lifetime to about five months — two months longer than its three-month prime mission.

InSight will head for a broad plain near the Martian equator with ample sunlight year-round, providing enough warmth and solar power to keep the mission operating for nearly two years, or a little more than one Martian year, and potentially much longer.

Several course-correction maneuvers are planned during the trip, setting up for InSight's one-shot descent through the Martian atmosphere.

Employing a similar entry, descent and landing profile as the Phoenix mission a decade ago, InSight will approach the target landing zone in Elysium Planitia, with its heat shield absorbing blistering temperatures up to 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit, before unfurling a parachute and firing downward-facing rocket thrusters to settle to a gentle touchdown.

Mission managers sel ected the nearly featureless landing target because of its safety. There are few surface hazards that could spell doom for InSight, and Banerdt, the mission's chief scientist, calls it the "biggest parking lot on Mars."

InSight was originally supposed to launch in March 2016, but problems sealing a vacuum enclosure containing one of the lander's primary instruments, a French-developed seismometer, forced officials to postpone the mission. Mars launch opportunities come once every 26 months, when the planets are in the proper positions in the solar system, so the next chance to send InSight to the Red Planet came Saturday.

Engineers redesigned the vacuum enclosure to eliminate an air leak in a feed-through, or wiring interface, used route data between the seismic sensors inside the instrument and electronics and communications equipment aboard the InSight spacecraft.


Artist's illustration of the InSight spacecraft on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The protective enclosure keeps out wind and other environmental conditions that could disrupt the sensitive seismic measurements. It must keep a seal through the large day-and-night temperature swings on Mars.

"One of these feed-throughs was not capable of maintaining itself through the large temperature extremes," Banerdt said. "When we actually tested at Mars conditions going down to minus 100 or minus 120 degrees Celsius (minus 148 to minus 184 degrees Fahrenheit), it developed a very tiny crack and started leaking — started allowing some air to come in.

"This was enough to upset the whole apple cart in terms of the sensitivity of the seismometer," Banerdt said.

JPL took over responsibility for fabricating a new enclosure, while the French space agency, CNES, remained in charge of the instrument's internal sensors.

The two-year delayed added roughly $150 million to InSight's cost, which now sits at more than $993 million, including launch and operations expenses. That figure includes an investment valued at approximately $180 million from the French and German space agencies.

The twin MarCO spacecraft cost another $18.5 million, according to NASA.

One of InSight's first jobs will be to take panoramic pictures to survey the landing site, a region unexplored by past Mars missions. InSight carries cameras based on technology originally developed for the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, but with added capability for color imagery.

A nearly 8-foot-long (2.4-meter) robotic arm will place the seismometer and heat probe on the Martian surface next to the lander after touchdown. InSight's robotic arm was originally built for the canceled Mars Surveyor lander that was supposed to launch in 2001.

Other leftover parts on InSight include a landing radar originally built as a spare for the Phoenix mission, and surplus structural booms from the Curiosity rover repurposed for a Spanish-built weather station on InSight to collect temperature and wind data.

Once placed on the surface of Mars, the German-made Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, know as HP3, will hammer to a depth of 16 feet, or 5 meters, a process expected to take around six weeks with roughly 10,000 individual hammer blows, accounting for several planned pauses to allow the instrument to record thermal conductivity measurements.

"If you have an astronaut on the planet, you can do this in maybe 20 minutes or half an hour," Banerdt said of the heat flow experiment. "But if you want to do it robotically, you have to get a little bit more clever."

The metallic mole will probe deeper into the Martian crust than any past lander.

"We think this remote probe can actually go down about 15 feet, which gives us a better baseline to measure the temperature increase with depth and be able to estimate the amount of heat coming out of Mars," Banerdt said.

"And that amount of heat is tied to the geological activity of the planet. It's the heat engine of the planet that drives volcanism, it drives tectonic activity, it drives mountain-building. So all the geological processes that happen on a planet are driven by its heat engine, and we want to measure sort of the vigor of that heat engine."

"We switch on the temp sensors and record the temperature over depth and time for up to two years," said Tilman Spohn, HP3 investigation lead from DLR, the German Aerospace Center, in Berlin. "Taking the temperature gradient, or the rate at which the temperature increases (with depth), gives us the heat flow. Very simple and straightforward, but as planetary science often is, very difficult. The devil is in the details."

The seismometer will get to work listening for marsquakes.

"Sensitive is really an understatement," Banerdt said of the seismometer. "Tt's an exquisitely sensitive device for measuring the motion of the ground. And when we talk about motion, we're talking about vibrations that have an amplitude comparable to the size of an atom.

"These are waves that were generated, maybe, by a marsquake on the other side of the planet, have traveled all the way through the planet, getting their waveform modified as they go through the planet and picking up information about the deep interior structure, and then we are able to pick it up when it comes back up to the surface under the seismometer," Banerdt said.

The seismic sensors aboard InSight evolved from mission concepts in the 1990s and 2000s that would have dispatched multiple small probes to Mars, creating a global geophysical network. InSight will give scientists just one seismic station, but experts have developed techniques to glean information about the interior of Mars, even with a single seismometer.

Researchers have attempted seismic detections on Mars before, but seismometers on NASA's Viking landers in the 1970s provided inconclusive results. The instruments were mounted the decks of the landers, making them susceptible from interference from spacecraft vibrations and winds.

"Not only do you have to have a very sensitive device for measuring those motions but you have to protect it from everything else that might affect it," he said. "We have several different layers of protection, it's sort of like a Russian doll."

An electrical and data cable will connect the seismometer to the InSight lander.

Philippe Lognonné, head of the InSight seismic investigation team at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris in France, said scientists do not have a confirmed detection of marsquake, but evidence suggests weak tremors occur on the red planet.

"We have no clear data on seismic activity on the planet," Lognonné in an interview with Spaceflight Now. "We imagine it because we see faults on the surface. In some places, we have seen wh ere a boulder may have fallen down from a scarp. But again, we have no data."

Lognonné said, based on existing theoretical models, the seismometer could register around 20 or 30 quakes per year, sensing ripples from all types of seismic waves moving through the planet.

"We cover all the seismic waves, and we even have sensitivity to tides, the Phobos tide especially," Lognonné said. "We cover all the signals to be generated by a quake."

Scientists will also measure Mars' polar wobble by analyzing radio signals transmitted between InSight and Earth-based antennas.

"By the timing of that signal, we can track the location of the spacecraft at Mars ... with an accuracy of something around a foot or so, maybe a little bit less," Banerdt said. "To me, that's the closest we can get to magic with science."

With that information, scientists can determine which way the Martian north pole is pointing as the planet rotates.

"Over the course of a year, we can watch the north pole wobble just a little bit because of the core sloshing around inside of the planet, and that will give us a very, very tight constraint on the size of that core and its density, and so its composition," Banerdt said. "That tells us the structure of Mars. The structure of Mars tells us something about the processes that put that structure together. We can put this into our mdoels, extrapolate it to Earth, and understand how the Earth formed four-and-half billion years ago."

Much of the ancient geologic record on Earth has eroded away, but Mars may still hold clues about how it was born, accreted rock and dust, and formed a hot, high-pressure mantle and core as heavier elements sunk deep beneath its surface.

"How we get fr om a ball of featureless rock into a planet that may or may not support life is a key question in planetary science," Banerdt said. "And these processes that do this all happen in the first tens of millions of years."

Discoveries made by InSight at Mars could inform scientists how the Earth formed and evolved.

"Mars is a smaller planet," Banerdt said. "It's less active than the Earth, so it has retained the fingerprints of those early processes in its basic structure — the thickness of the crust, the compositon of the mantle, the size and composition of its core," he said. "By mapping out these boundaries, these various different sections of the inside of the planet, we can then understand better how the planet formed, and how our planet got to be the way it is."

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ЦитироватьCowboy Dan‏ @CowboyDanPaasch (https://twitter.com/CowboyDanPaasch) 11 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/CowboyDanPaasch/status/992691701071433728)

#InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash) Fun Fact: Distance between Earth and Mars at launch, 75 million miles. Distance traveled to get to Mars, 301 million miles. #NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/NASAInSight?src=hash)

ЦитироватьInSight Mission to Mars Launch

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2018 г.

Go, Atlas. Go, Centaur. Go, InSight! NASA's InSight mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base for Mars on May 5, 2018—the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast. InSight is expected to land on the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018. More than a mission to Mars, InSight will help scientists understand the formation and early evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 14 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/992892746649227269)

Insight, MarCO-A, MarCO-B and AV-078 are now all over 150,000 km from Earth. This puts them past the Earth-Moon 1:4 resonance that I use as the boundary of deep space, so I'm adding them to the (yet to be published) Deep Space Catalog

ЦитироватьNot (http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/user/13990/) пишет:
Установлена связь с обоими кубосатами, в 12:15 p.m. PST первый сигнал, в 1:58 p.m. PST второй. Polo!  :)  

ЦитироватьNASA JPL‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASAJPL (https://twitter.com/NASAJPL) 14 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAJPL/status/992901774267727873)

Marco? Polo... in space! A pair of intrepid spacecraft launched today with @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) are the first-ever deep space CubeSats. #MARCO (https://twitter.com/hashtag/MARCO?src=hash) A and B are healthy, communicating and on their journey toward #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash). https://go.nasa.gov/2HTMbOm  (https://t.co/4UoyCfdM3I)
https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/Dcd-vACVQAAO4gu.mp4 (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/Dcd-vACVQAAO4gu.mp4)
(video (https://video.twimg.com/tweet_video/Dcd-vACVQAAO4gu.mp4) 0:05)

ЦитироватьMAY 5, 2018

NASA's First Deep-Space CubeSats Say: 'Polo!'


An artist's rendering of the twin Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft as they fly through deep space. The MarCOs will be the first CubeSats -- a kind of modular, mini-satellite -- attempting to fly to another planet. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 
› Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22314)

NASA has received radio signals indicating that the first-ever CubeSats headed to deep space are alive and well. The first signal was received at 12:15 p.m. PST (3:15 p.m. EST) today; the second at 1:58 p.m. PST (4:58 p.m. EST). Engineers will now be performing a series of checks before both CubeSats enter their cruise to deep space.

Mars Cube One, or MarCO (https://go.nasa.gov/MarCO_Launch), is a pair of briefcase-sized spacecraft that launched along with NASA's InSight (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/) Mars lander at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) today fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California. InSight is a scientific mission that will probe the Red Planet's deep interior for the first time; the name stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

The twin MarCO CubeSats are on their own separate mission: rather than collecting science, they will follow the InSight lander on its cruise to Mars, testing out miniature spacecraft technology along the way.

Both were programmed to unfold their solar panels soon after launch, followed by several opportunities to radio back their health.

"Both MarCO-A and B say 'Polo!' It's a sign that the little sats are alive and well," said Andy Klesh, chief engineer for the MarCO mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which built the twin spacecraft.

Спойлер

The computers inside each MarCO CubeSat haven't been turned on since being tested at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in mid-March, wh ere they were prepared for launch by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems of Irvine, California. Each spacecraft had to do a lot of things right by itself for the team to hear a signal: batteries had to retain enough charge for the spacecraft to deploy their solar arrays, stabilize their attitude, turn toward the Sun and turn on their radios.

A couple of weeks will be spent assessing how the MarCO CubeSats are performing. If they survive the radiation of space and function as planned, they'll fly over the Red Planet during InSight's entry, descent and landing in November. They each have a special antenna to relay InSight's vital signs during the infamous "Seven Minutes of Terror (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki_Af_o9Q9s)", the crucial phase which has claimed the majority of humanity's probes sent to land on the Red Planet.

CubeSats are a kind of boxy satellite invented to teach engineering students how to build spacecraft. Today, they offer access to space for private companies and research institutions. They're just one kind of "SmallSat," which includes a broad range organized by weight class. CubeSats are generally under 33 pounds (15 kilograms), and can weigh as little as about five pounds (2.5 kilograms). They're distinctively modular, which makes it easier to buy "plug-in" parts rather than custom-design every part of the spacecraft.

NASA is taking the opportunity to test several experimental systems with MarCO. Their radios, folding high-gain antennas, attitude control and propulsion systems are all included to prove new technologies in deep space.

"We're nervous but excited," said Joel Krajewski of JPL, MarCO's project manager. "A lot of work went into designing and testing these components so that they could survive the trip to Mars and relay data during InSight's landing. But our broader goal is to learn more about how to adapt CubeSat technologies for future deep-space missions."

When InSight arrives on Mars in November, it won't rely on MarCO for sending landing data back to Earth. That job will go to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, as well as several Earth-based astronomy telescopes. But the MarCO mission could help prove the potential for CubeSats as a kind of bring-your-own "black box" for future NASA missions.

MarCO was built by JPL, which manages InSight and MarCO for NASA. It was funded by both JPL and NASA's Science Mission Directorate. A number of commercial suppliers provided unique technologies for MarCO. A full list, along with more information about the spacecraft, can be found here (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/insight/appendix/mars-cube-one/).

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2018-090

ЦитироватьJay L. DeShetler‏ @jdeshetler (https://twitter.com/jdeshetler) 16 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jdeshetler/status/993134827816681472)

Long range video shot of ULA Atlas V - NASA InSight Mars Lander which was launched at 4:05 am. Taken from Santa Ynez Summit, 3,800' above Santa Barbara, 42 miles from the SLC-3E pad. @NASASpaceflight (https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight) @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) @ulalaunch (https://twitter.com/ulalaunch)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsDGmRoNNrs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsDGmRoNNrs)
(video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsDGmRoNNrs) 0:58 )

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 28 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/993217092353757185)

Mars Insight and its fellow travellers now 409,000 km from Earth, beyond the orbit of the Moon.

ЦитироватьNASA_TESS‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_TESS (https://twitter.com/NASA_TESS) 1 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASA_TESS/status/993290408829517824)

.@NASA_TESS (https://twitter.com/NASA_TESS) Mission Update: completed the P2M (Perigee 2 Maneuver), another on orbit burn to place #TESS (https://twitter.com/hashtag/TESS?src=hash) into its final science orbit, nominally. The instrument is turned off for all maneuvers. While this maneuver is only for 7 secs it puts TESS on target for our lunar encounter.

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/993620211906629633)

Insight is now 706,000 km from Earth, about half way to the edge of the Earth-Moon system [Hill sphere].

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 30 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/994019287147855872)

Counting down – 200 days until I touch down on #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)! Although @NASAJPL (https://twitter.com/NASAJPL) has landed safely on the Red Planet in the past, it's always very challenging. Read more about my dramatic landing: http://go.nasa.gov/2E9FTJ4  (https://t.co/YuxdU7zlc1)

ЦитироватьAtlas V InSight Rocket Cam

United Launch Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnrGPRKAg1PgvuSHrRIl3jg)

Опубликовано: 10 мая 2018 г.

ULA's Atlas V rocket blasted off on May 5, 2018, with NASA's InSight mission to Mars. Here's what it looked like from the rocket's perspective.

ЦитироватьMAY 15, 2018
A Pale Blue Dot, As Seen by a CubeSat


The first image captured by one of NASA's Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats. The image, which shows both the CubeSat's unfolded high-gain antenna at right and the Earth and its moon in the center, was acquired by MarCO-B on May 9. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22323)

NASA's Voyager 1 took a classic portrait of Earth (https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00452) from several billion miles away in 1990. Now a class of tiny, boxy spacecraft, known as CubeSats, have just taken their own version of a "pale blue dot" image, capturing Earth and its moon in one shot.

NASA set a new distance record for CubeSats on May 8 when a pair of CubeSats called Mars Cube One (MarCO) reached 621,371 miles (1 million kilometers) from Earth. One of the CubeSats, called MarCO-B (and affectionately known as "Wall-E" to the MarCO team) used a fisheye camera to snap its first photo on May 9. That photo is part of the process used by the engineering team to confirm the spacecraft's high-gain antenna has properly unfolded.

As a bonus, it captured Earth and its moon as tiny specks floating in space.

Спойлер

"Consider it our homage to Voyager," said Andy Klesh, MarCO's chief engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. JPL built the CubeSats and leads the MarCO mission. "CubeSats have never gone this far into space before, so it's a big milestone. Both our CubeSats are healthy and functioning properly. We're looking forward to seeing them travel even farther."

The MarCO spacecraft are the first CubeSats ever launched to deep space. Most never go beyond Earth orbit; they generally stay below 497 miles (800 kilometers) above the planet. Though they were originally developed to teach university students about satellites, CubeSats are now a major commercial technology, providing data on everything from shipping routes to environmental changes.

The MarCO CubeSats were launched on May 5 along with NASA's InSight lander, a spacecraft that will touch down on Mars and study the planet's deep interior for the first time. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, will attempt to land on Mars on Nov. 26. JPL also leads the InSight mission.

Mars landings are notoriously challenging due to the Red Planet's thin atmosphere. The MarCO CubeSats will follow along behind InSight during its cruise to Mars. Should they make it all the way to Mars, they will radio back data about InSight while it enters the atmosphere and descends to the planet's surface. The high-gain antennas are key to that effort; the MarCO team have early confirmation that the antennas have successfully deployed, but will continue to test them in the weeks ahead.

InSight won't rely on the MarCO mission for data relay. That job will fall to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. But the MarCOs could be a pathfinder so that future missions can "bring their own relay" to Mars. They could also demonstrate a number of experimental technologies, including their antennas, radios and propulsion systems, which will allow CubeSats to collect science in the future.

Later this month, the MarCOs will attempt the first trajectory correction maneuvers ever performed by CubeSats. This maneuver lets them steer towards Mars, blazing a trail for CubeSats to come.

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2018-099

ЦитироватьFirst interplanetary CubeSats already setting records in deep space
May 17, 2018 (https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/05/) | Stephen Clark (https://spaceflightnow.com/author/stephen-clark/)


Artist's concept of the MarCO CubeSats. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Two CubeSats developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory launched May 5 with the InSight mission to Mars have deployed their miniaturized antennas and captured a distant family portrait of the Earth and the moon.

The twin spacecraft have already set a distance record for CubeSats, and they were moving away from Earth at a range of 1.8 million miles (2.9 million kilometers) as of Wednesday.

Спойлер

The microprobes are part of the Mars Cube One mission, a technology demonstration project that aims to test the feasibility of operating CubeSats in deep space. If successful, the two testbeds could lay the foundation for miniature spacecraft traveling to the moon, asteroids, comets and the planets, accomplishing focused scientific objectives at significantly lower cost than conventional space probes.

Known as MarCO for short, the CubeSats accompanied NASA's InSight spacecraft during its launch May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Moments after the InSight probe deployed from the forward end of the upper stage of the mission's Atlas 5 launcher, the twin MarCO CubeSats released from a carrier mounted to the rocket stage's aft bulkhead.

The two satellites, each about the size of a briefcase, powered up and executed a pre-programmed sequence to activate their on-board avionics and deploy their power-generating solar panels, each with an area of just one square foot. Both CubeSats radioed their status to controllers on Earth a few hours after separating from the Atlas 5 rocket.

Some engineers were waiting anxiously for a status report from the CubeSats, which were last powered up nearly two months before launch, before their stowage inside their deployment mechanism on the rocket.

But the signals came back to Earth, confirming both spacecraft were healthy and ready for post-launch checkouts.

Controllers uplinked commands from the ground for each spacecraft, named MarCO-A and MarCO-B, to deploy two antennas. One of the antennas on each CubeSat, operating in X-band, is designed to beam signals back to Earth from distances as far away as Mars without needing much power, an essential capability for such small spacecraft.

MarCO-A and MarCO-B also deployed a UHF radio antenna, which will receive telemetry from the InSight spacecraft as it descends through the Martian atmosphere Nov. 26. The $18.5 million MarCO mission was conceived primarily as a technology demonstration, but it will attempt to relay status signals from InSight back to Earth during the craft's critical entry, descent and landing phase.

Andrew Good, a JPL spokesperson, confirmed Wednesday that all antennas on both MarCO CubeSats deployed as planned.

Each CubeSat carries a wide-field camera to verify the successful deployment of the X-band high-gain antennas. One of the validation images downlinked from MarCO-B on May 9 captured a view of the Earth as a "pale blue dot" amid the blackness of space, with the moon lurking nearby.


The first image captured by one of NASA's Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats. The image, which shows both the CubeSat's unfolded high-gain antenna at right and the Earth and its moon in the center, was acquired by MarCO-B on May 9. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

"Consider it our homage to Voyager," said Andy Klesh, MarCO's chief engineer at JPL, referring to the famous "Pale Blue Dot" image of Earth taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft from the outer solar system. "CubeSats have never gone this far into space before, so it's a big milestone. Both our CubeSats are healthy and functioning properly. We're looking forward to seeing them travel even farther."

Nearly 1,000 CubeSats have been launched since 2000, enabling commercial companies, universities, governments and other types of budget-constrained organizations cheaper access to space. A CubeSat can come in various sizes, each based on a cubic "unit" measuring around 4 inches (10 centimeters) on a side.

The MarCO spacecraft are "six-unit" CubeSats, and they are the first of their kind to leave Earth's vicinity.

Packing all the capability of a traditional spacecraft into a package as small as a CubeSat has been a challenge.

"We need to be able to communicate, to navigate, and to be able to maneuver in the deep space environment," Klesh said.

The success of InSight's landing on Mars will not depend on the MarCO CubeSats.

InSight will transmit data during its entry, descent and landing up to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which will store the information and send it back to ground controllers more than an hour later. The time delay is required because MRO is not capable of simultaneously receiving information in one band and transmitting data in another.

Giant radio telescopes on Earth will also listen for signals radioed directly from InSight in near real-time — accounting for a time delay due to the vast distance to Mars — but the ground-based antennas are expected to only verify the lander's "aliveness" during descent and touchdown.

The MarCO CubeSats will sail by Mars at a distance of around 2,175 miles (3,500 kilometers), orienting their UHF antennas toward InSight and pointing their X-band high-gain reflectors to Earth. If the CubeSats work as intended, they will receive detailed UHF telemetry from InSight, re-format the data in an on-board computer, then beam the information to Earth in X-band.

NASA sent two 30-pound (13.5-kilogram) CubeSats for redundancy in case one of the MarCO probes runs into trouble.

Regardless of the success of the MarCO mission, or the other listening options via MRO or ground-based radio telescopes, InSight's parachute- and rocket-assisted touchdown sequence will be completely autonomous, not requiring any real-time input from engineers on Earth.

One of the crucial technologies embedded inside each MarCO spacecraft is a miniaturized "Iris" radio, about the size of a softball, that crams advanced receive and transmission functions into a package that can fit into a CubeSat. The Iris radio is designed to interface with NASA's Deep Space Network, a collection of antennas at three sites in California, Spain and Australia that connect with spacecraft traveling throughout the solar system.


Engineer Joel Steinkraus uses sunlight to test the solar arrays on one of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The MarCO CubeSats will test out their propulsion capabilities in the first of several course-correction maneuvers set for late next week, Good said.

But they do not carry the typical propellants used by satellites. Instead of a conventional liquid fuel, like hydrazine, the CubeSats will change its trajectory with compressed R236FA gas, which is commonly used in fire extinguishers.

Engineers who worked on the MarCO mission nicknamed the CubeSats "Wall-E" and "Eva," based on characters from the 2008 Pixar film. In the movie, the sentient Wall-E robot uses a fire extinguisher to propel through space.

The compressed gas supply will feed eight tiny thrusters on each CubeSat.

According to Good, the twin MarCO spacecraft will conduct their trajectory correction maneuvers one at a time to begin fine-tuning their course toward Mars.

The Atlas 5 rocket intentionally targeted a trajectory slightly offset from Mars during the May 5 launch to ensure the vehicle's Centaur upper stage would not impact the Red Planet. InSight and the twin MarCO CubeSats will bend their trajectories back toward Mars with a series of maneuvers over the coming months.

Developers are already designing and building CubeSats for future deep space missions, and results from MarCO will help ensure engineers their concepts will work far away from Earth.

Thirteen CubeSats will fly on the first launch of NASA's Space Launch System in 2020, each with standalone missions to study the moon, travel to an asteroid, and conduct other types of research and demonstrations in deep space.

NASA is also planning to seek proposals for CubeSats and other small spacecraft that could ride on future interplanetary launches, adding scientific capability and opportunities for bonus science to already-planned missions, such as the Lucy and Psyche asteroid probes set for launch in 2021 and 2022.

The space agency has funded studies of 19 interplanetary mission concepts using CubeSats and other types of "SmallSats" to help teams advance their work.

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ЦитироватьTory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno (https://twitter.com/torybruno) 17 мая (https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/997070704896983040)

Feeling nostalgic for our last trip to Mars? Here's the post flight from #InSight (https://twitter.com/hashtag/InSight?src=hash). Mighty Atlas made another Interplanetary bullseye

ЦитироватьMAY 23, 2018

InSight Steers Toward Mars

NASA's InSight lander has made its first course correction toward Mars.

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is the first mission dedicated to exploring the deep interior of Mars.

The lander is currently encapsulated in a protective aeroshell, which launched on top of an Atlas V 401 rocket on May 5 fr om Vandenberg Air Force Base in Central California. Yesterday, the spacecraft fired its thrusters for the first time to change its flight path. This activity, called a trajectory correction maneuver, will happen a maximum of six times to guide the lander to Mars.

Спойлер

Every launch starts with a rocket. That's necessary to get a spacecraft out past Earth's gravity -- but rockets don't complete the journey to other planets. Before launch, every piece of hardware headed to Mars is cleaned, limiting the number of Earth microbes that might travel on the spacecraft. However, the rocket and its upper stage, called a Centaur, don't get the same special treatment.

As a result, Mars launches involve aiming the rocket just off-target so that it flies off into space. Separately, the spacecraft performs a series of trajectory correction maneuvers guiding it to the Red Planet. This makes sure that only the clean spacecraft lands on the planet, while the upper stage does not come close.

Precise calculations are required for InSight to arrive at exactly the right spot in Mars' atmosphere at exactly the right time, resulting in a landing on Nov. 26. Every step of the way, a team of navigators estimates the position and velocity of the spacecraft. Then they design maneuvers to deliver it to an entry point at Mars. That navigation team is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, which leads the InSight mission.

"This first maneuver is the largest we'll conduct," said Fernando Abilleira of JPL, InSight's Deputy Mission Design and Navigation Manager. "The thrusters will fire for about 40 seconds to impart a velocity change of 3.8 meters per second [8.5 mph] to the spacecraft. That will put us in the right ballpark as we aim for Mars."

Especially at the beginning of that cruise, navigators rely on NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) to track the spacecraft. The DSN is a system of antennas located at three sites around the Earth. As the planet rotates, each of these sites comes into range of NASA's spacecraft, pinging them with radio signals to track their positions. The antennas also send and receive data this way.

The DSN can give very accurate measurements about spacecraft position and velocity. But predicting wh ere InSight will be after it fires its thrusters requires lots of modeling, Abilleira said. As the cruise to Mars progresses, navigators have more information about the forces acting on a spacecraft. That lets them further refine their models. Combined with DSN tracking measurements, these models allow them to precisely drive the spacecraft to the desired entry point.

"Navigation is all about statistics, probability and uncertainty," Abilleira said. "As we gather more information on the forces acting on the spacecraft, we can better predict how it's moving and how future maneuvers will affect its path."

Yesterday's 40-second burn relies on four of eight thrusters on the spacecraft. A separate group of four is autonomously fired on a daily basis to keep the spacecraft's solar panels trained on the Sun and its antennas pointed at Earth. While necessary to maintain orientation, these small, daily firings also introduce errors that navigators have to account for and counterbalance.

"Everyone has been working hard since launch to assess what these small forces have done to the trajectory," said Allen Halsell of JPL, InSight's navigation team chief. "People have worked lots of hours to look at that. For engineers, it's a very interesting problem, and fun to try to figure out."

When the spacecraft is just a few hours from Mars, the planet's gravitational pull, or gravity well, will begin to reel the spacecraft in. At that point, InSight's team will prepare for the next milestone after cruise: entering Mars' atmosphere, descending to the surface and sticking InSight's landing.

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

Find more information about InSight at:
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

Follow InSight's path to Mars by visiting NASA's Eyes on the Solar System:
https://go.nasa.gov/2FSWReg

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov (mailto:andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov)

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ЦитироватьJUNE 1, 2018

NASA CubeSats Steer Toward Mars

An artist's concept of one of NASA's MarCO CubeSats. The twin MarCOs are the first CubeSats to complete a trajectory correction maneuver, firing their thrusters to guide themselves toward Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
› Larger view (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/marco/20180601/marco-home.jpg)

NASA has achieved a first for the class of tiny spacecraft known as CubeSats, which are opening new access to space.

Over the past week, two CubeSats called MarCO-A and MarCO-B have been firing their propulsion systems to guide themselves toward Mars. This process, called a trajectory correction maneuver, allows a spacecraft to refine its path to Mars following launch. Both CubeSats successfully completed this maneuver; NASA's InSight spacecraft just completed the same process (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7138) on May 22.

Спойлер

The pair of CubeSats that make up the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission both launched on May 5, along with the InSight lander, which is headed toward a Nov. 26 touchdown on the Red Planet. They were designed to trail InSight on the way to Mars, aiming to relay back data about InSight as it enters the planet's atmosphere and attempts to land. The MarCOs were never intended to collect any science data; instead, they are a test of miniaturized communication and navigation technology that can blaze a path for future CubeSats sent to other planets.

Both MarCO-A and B successfully completed a set of communications tests in the past couple of weeks, said John Baker, program manager for planetary SmallSats at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. JPL built both MarCO CubeSats and leads the mission.

"Our broadest goal was to demonstrate how low-cost CubeSat technology can be used in deep space for the first time," Baker said. "With both MarCOs on their way to Mars, we've already traveled farther than any CubeSat before them."

While MarCO-A corrected its course to Mars relatively smoothly, MarCO-B faced some unexpected challenges. Its maneuver was smaller due to a leaky thruster valve that engineers have been monitoring for the past several weeks. The leak creates small trajectory changes on its own. Engineers have factored in these nudges so that MarCO-B can still perform a trajectory correction maneuver. It will take several more weeks of tracking to refine these nudges so that MarCO-B can follow InSight on its cruise through space.

"We're cautiously optimistic that MarCO-B can follow MarCO-A," said Joel Krajewski of JPL, MarCO's project manager. "But we wanted to take more time to understand the underlying issues before attempting the next course-correction maneuver."

Once the MarCO team has analyzed data, they'll know the size of follow-on maneuvers. Several more course corrections will be needed to reach the Red Planet.

Should the CubeSats make it all the way to Mars, they will attempt to relay data to Earth about InSight's landing. InSight won't rely on either CubeSat for that data relay, however; that job will fall to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

2018-123

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ЦитироватьNASA ScienceCasts: New InSight into the Red Planet

ScienceAtNASA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKt6dYzHqHfpcp1lgj4bl1A)

Опубликовано: 21 июн. 2018 г.

We've always referred to Mars as the red planet because of its surface color. But what's below that dusty crust? NASA's InSight mission is determined to find out.

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 18 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/1024468173507112961)

Can't go 300 million miles without turning my steering wheel! My team has tweaked my flight path for the second time and I'm well on my way to #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash). Read more about these tweaks: https://go.nasa.gov/2DDV0K4  (https://t.co/0z5CGRF8En)

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 2 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/1026163428144996352)

I'm HALFWAY to #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)! I'm traveling at a speed of ~6,200 mph. My total trip is ~300 million miles. I'll land on Mars Nov. 26, 2018. Learn more about my trip: http://go.nasa.gov/2DDV0K4  (https://t.co/ZGdaiDCRtR)

ЦитироватьJeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust) 37 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1026230651199127553)

Anne Marinan, JPL: MarCO-A cubesat recently performed second trajectory correction maneuver en route to Mars, and MarCO-B will perform second TCM in the next week.
#smallsat (https://twitter.com/hashtag/smallsat?src=hash)

36 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1026230948143214592)

Marinan: both spacecraft are performing well. MarCO-B has a small propellant leak due to an unseated valve, but able to mitigate its effects.
#smallsat (https://twitter.com/hashtag/smallsat?src=hash)

34 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1026231381515542528)

Marinan: focus now is on prime mission to relay entry, descent and landing data from the Insight lander in November, but may consider an extended mission afterwards to collect more engineering data.
#smallsat (https://twitter.com/hashtag/smallsat?src=hash)

ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 4 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/1030836913299546113)

In days, I'm scheduled to land on #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash). My touchdown is set for November 26, making the days around the Thanksgiving holiday extra memorable this year. No other mission has done what I'll be doing. Learn how I'll study Mars' deep interior: http://go.nasa.gov/2EaR844  (https://t.co/nCryBG5VlL)

ЦитироватьNASA Mars Report: August 20, 2018

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 20 авг. 2018 г.

What's the latest news from Mars? A global dust storm is starting to settle, but still obscures the Martian surface; the Curiosity rover turns six and drills a new rock sample; the InSight lander is more than halfway to Mars and has tested its instruments and cameras. For more about all of NASA's Mars missions, visit https://mars.nasa.gov (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&v=IJtjJSHsm9c&redir_token=bziaNu4V0ntowEflSSK4ZDVp_Zd8MTUzNDg3NjUxMUAxNTM0NzkwMTEx&q=https%3A%2F%2Fmars.nasa.gov) .

ЦитироватьAug. 20, 2018

NASA's InSight Passes Halfway to Mars, Instruments Check In

NASA's InSight spacecraft, en route to a Nov. 26 landing on Mars, passed the halfway mark on Aug. 6. All of its instruments have been tested and are working well.

As of Aug. 20, the spacecraft had covered 172 million miles (277 million kilometers) since its launch 107 days ago. In another 98 days, it will travel another 129 million miles (208 million kilometers) and touch down in Mars' Elysium Planitia region, where it will be the first mission to study the Red Planet's deep interior. InSight stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

Спойлер

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpDDRIMGNxDTAORJVK2RS7I&time_continue=1&v=IJtjJSHsm9c (https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpDDRIMGNxDTAORJVK2RS7I&time_continue=1&v=IJtjJSHsm9c)(video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLTiv_XWHnOZpDDRIMGNxDTAORJVK2RS7I&time_continue=1&v=IJtjJSHsm9c) 1:27)
What's the latest news from Mars? A global dust storm is starting to settle, but still obscures the Martian surface; the Curiosity rover turns six and drills a new rock sample; the InSight lander is more than halfway to Mars and has tested its instruments and cameras.

The InSight team is using the time before the spacecraft's arrival at Mars to not only plan and practice for that critical day, but also to activate and check spacecraft subsystems vital to cruise, landing and surface operations, including the highly sensitive science instruments.

InSight's seismometer, which will be used to detect quakes on Mars, received a clean bill of health on July 19. The SEIS instrument (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) is a six-sensor seismometer combining two types of sensors to measure ground motions over a wide range of frequencies. It will give scientists a window into Mars' internal activity.

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/insighticcannotated.png)
This long-exposure image (24 seconds) was taken by Instrument Context Camera (ICC) of NASA's InSight Mars lander. The image shows some of the interior features of the backshell that encapsulates the spacecraft. The backshell carries the parachute and several components used during later stages of entry, descent, and landing. Along with the heatshield, the backshell protects NASA's InSight Mars lander during its commute to and entry into the Martian atmosphere.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22647)

"We did our final performance checks on July 19, which were successful," said Bruce Banerdt, principal investigator of InSight from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

The team also checked an instrument that will measure the amount of heat escaping from Mars. After being placed on the surface, InSight's Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument will use a self-hammering mechanical mole burrowing to a depth of 10 to 16 feet (3 to 5 meters). Measurements by sensors on the mole and on a science tether from the mole to the surface will yield the first precise determination of the amount of heat escaping from the planet's interior. The checkout consisted of powering on the main electronics for the instrument, performing checks of its instrument sensor elements, exercising some of the instrument's internal heaters, and reading out the stored settings in the electronics module. 

The third of InSight's three main investigations -- Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE) -- uses the spacecraft's radio connection with Earth to assess perturbations of Mars' rotation axis. These measurements can provide information about the planet's core.

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22547-16.jpg)
This artist's concept shows the InSight spacecraft, encapsulated in its aeroshell, as it cruises to Mars.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and caption (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22547)

"We have been using the spacecraft's radio since launch day, and our conversations with InSight have been very cordial, so we are good to go with RISE as well," said Banerdt.

The lander's cameras checked out fine as well, taking a spacecraft selfie of the inside of the spacecraft's backshell. InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman from JPL said that, "If you are an engineer on InSight, that first glimpse of the heat shield blanket, harness tie-downs and cover bolts is a very reassuring sight as it tells us our Instrument Context Camera is operating perfectly. The next picture we plan to take with this camera will be of the surface of Mars."

If all goes as planned, the camera will take the first image of Elysium Planitia minutes after InSight touches down on Mars.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/seis/)) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland, Imperial College and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3 (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/hp3/)) instrument.

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2018-193

Last Updated: Aug. 20, 2018
Editor: Tony Greicius

ЦитироватьInside InSight - Swiss-Italian Scientist Studies Earthquakes and Marsquakes

NASA 360 (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55MqAQLf6S5tSphpOi_1PA)

Опубликовано: 2 авг. 2018 г.

ETH Zurich professor Domenico Giardini spent his career studying earthquakes — once NASA InSight lands, he will get to study marsquakes. An Italian living in Switzerland, Domenico works with NASA's international partners to provide electronics for the lander's seismometer. Landing in November 2018, NASA's InSight will probe beneath the surface of Mars, study the planet's interior and shed light on how rocky planets — inside and outside our solar system — form.

ЦитироватьInside InSight - Ghanaian Engineer Works on Robotic Arms for Mars

NASA 360 (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55MqAQLf6S5tSphpOi_1PA)

Опубликовано: 2 авг. 2018 г.

NASA-JPL InSight engineer Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu builds robotic components for planetary exploration, a dream that began as a young child in Ghana.

Landing in November 2018, NASA's InSight will probe beneath the surface of Mars, study the planet's interior and shed light on how rocky planets — inside and outside our solar system — form.

ЦитироватьMars in a Minute: How Did Mars Get Such Enormous Mountains?

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 28 авг. 2018 г.

Why are the tallest peaks in the solar system found on one of its smallest worlds? Like any planet, how Mars looks outside is tied to what goes on inside. Dig into planetary formation in this 60-second video and by visiting mars.nasa.gov/insight .

ЦитироватьAug. 29, 2018

NASA's InSight Has a Thermometer for Mars

The Red Planet has some of the tallest mountains in the solar system. They include Olympus Mons, a volcano nearly three times the height of Everest. It borders a region called the Tharsis plateau, where three equally awe-inspiring volcanoes dominate the landscape.

But what geologic processes created these features on the Martian surface? Scientists have long wondered -- and may soon know more.

NASA and DLR (German Aerospace Center) plan to take the planet's temperature for the first time ever, measuring how heat flows out of the planet and drives this inspiring geology. Detecting this escaping heat will be a crucial part of a mission called InSight (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/) (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

InSight will be the first mission to study Mars' deep interior, using its Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/hp3/) instrument to measure heat as it is conducted fr om the interior to the planet's surface. This energy was in part captured when Mars formed more than 4 billion years ago, preserving a record of its creation. That energy is also due to the decay of radioactive elements in the rocky interior.

The way heat moves through a planet's mantle and crust determines what surface features it will have, said Sue Smrekar of JPL, the mission's deputy principal investigator and the deputy lead for HP3.

Спойлер

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cww3yVQpcjY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cww3yVQpcjY)
(video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cww3yVQpcjY) 1:00)
Ambitious climbers, forget Mt. Everest. Dream about Mars.

"Most of the planet's geology is a result of heat," Smrekar said. "Volcanic eruptions in the ancient past were driven by the flow of this heat, pushing up and constructing the towering mountains Mars is famous for."

A mole for Mars

While scientists have modeled the interior structure of Mars, InSight will provide the first opportunity to find ground truth -- by literally looking below the ground.

HP3, built and operated by DLR, will be placed on the Martian surface after InSight lands on Nov. 26, 2018. A probe called a mole will pummel the ground, burying itself and dragging a tether behind it. Temperature sensors embedded in this tether will measure the natural internal heat of Mars.

That's no easy task. The mole has to burrow deep enough to escape the wide temperature swings of the Martian surface. Even the spacecraft's own "body heat" could affect HP3's super-sensitive readings.

"If the mole gets stuck higher up than expected, we can still measure the temperature variation," said HP3 investigation lead Tilman Spohn of DLR. "Our data will have more noise, but we can subtract out daily and seasonal weather variations by comparing it with ground-temperature measurements."

In addition to burrowing, the mole will give off heat pulses. Scientists will study how quickly the mole warms the surrounding rock, allowing them to figure out how well heat is conducted by the rock grains at the landing site. Densely packed grains conduct heat better -- an important piece of the equation for determining Mars' internal energy.

Cooking up a new planet

For an example of planetary heat flow, imagine a pot of water on a stove.

As water heats, it expands, becomes less dense, and rises. The cooler, denser water sinks to the bottom, wh ere it heats up. This cycling of cool to hot is called convection. The same thing happens inside a planet, churning rock over millions of years.

Just as expanding bubbles can push off a pot lid, volcanoes are lids being blown off the top of a world. They shape a planet's surface in the process. Most of the atmosphere on rocky planets forms as volcanoes expel gas from deep below. Some of Mars' biggest dry river beds are believed to have formed when the Tharsis volcanoes spewed gas into the atmosphere. That gas contained water vapor, which cooled into liquid and may have formed the channels surrounding Tharsis.

The smaller the planet, the faster it loses its original heat. Since Mars is only one-third the size of Earth, most of its heat was lost early in its history. Most Martian geologic activity, including volcanism, occurred in the planet's first billion years.

"We want to know what drove the early volcanism and climate change on Mars," Spohn said. "How much heat did Mars start with? How much was left to drive its volcanism?"

NASA's orbiters have given scientists a "macro" view of the planet, allowing them to study Martian geology from above. HP3 will offer a first look at the inside of Mars.

"Planets are kind of like an engine, driven by heat that moves their internal parts around," Smrekar said. "With HP3, we'll be lifting the hood on Mars' engine for the first time."

What scientists learn during the InSight mission won't just apply to Mars. It will teach them how all rocky planets formed -- including Earth, its Moon and even planets in other solar systems.
...
JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov (mailto:andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov)

[свернуть]

2018-205

Last Updated: Aug. 30, 2018
Editor: Tony Greicius

ЦитироватьSEPTEMBER 13, 2018
MarCO Makes Space for Small Explorers

(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/2018/marco-being-tested-in-sunlight)
(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/2018/marco-being-tested-in-sunlight)
MARCO BEING TESTED IN SUNLIGHT
Engineer Joel Steinkraus uses sunlight to test the solar arrays on one of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Twenty years ago, CubeSats -- a class of boxy satellites small enough to fit in a backpack -- were used by universities as a teaching aid. Simpler, smaller and cheaper than traditional satellites, they've made space more accessible to private companies and science agencies.

This summer, NASA has been flying the first two next-generation CubeSats to deep space. They're currently on their way to Mars, trailing thousands of miles behind the InSight (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/) spacecraft. InSight and its CubeSat tag-alongs are already more than halfway to the Red Planet.

The mini-mission, called Mars Cube One (MarCO), has already proved this class of spacecraft can survive the deep-space environment. It will next test the use of miniaturized communication technology to relay data when InSight attempts to land in November. Relaying landing data is one of the jobs of NASA's orbiters, which will record InSight's descent; engineers learn more from every landing attempt. MarCO will test whether this technology can ably perform the relay job for future missions.

Спойлер

(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/?ImageID=%209617)
(https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/multimedia/images/?ImageID=%209617)
MARS CUBE ONE IN DETAIL
Illustration of one of the twin MarCO spacecraft with some key components labeled. Front cover is left out to show some internal components. Antennas and solar arrays are in deployed configuration. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

To complete their mission, the MarCOs have miniature high-gain antennas and radios that can communicate with Earth from roughly 93 million miles away. Their propulsion systems are capable of steering towards Mars; each MarCO completed its second steering maneuver in August. They even have color cameras, one of which snapped the first image (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/news/8338/a-pale-blue-dot-as-seen-by-a-cubesat) of Earth and the Moon -- proof of just how far this technology has literally come.

MarCO is still experimental. It's meant to demonstrate that spacecraft technology can be shrunk into a tiny package and still do something useful in deep space. And while CubeSats will never compete with the larger and more complex spacecraft NASA usually flies, the MarCO spacecraft are pioneering a new class of robotic exploration.

"Our hope is that MarCO could help democratize deep space," said Jakob Van Zyl, director of the Solar System Exploration Directorate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "The technology is cheap enough that you could envision countries entering space that weren't players in the past. Even universities could do this."

A Legacy of Pathfinders

JPL initiated and built MarCO, just one of several CubeSat projects (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/) the Lab has developed. JPL is a natural place to host CubeSats: The Lab built the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1 (https://explorer1.jpl.nasa.gov/), which discovered the Van Allen radiation belts in 1958. Not unlike a CubeSat, it was a small, rudimentary spacecraft. The history of the U.S. space program followed in its wake.

JPL later built a Mars mini-rover called Sojourner that took baby steps in 1997 and proved to be a trial run for NASA's Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers.

Innovation often begins with pathfinder technology, Van Zyl said. Once engineers prove something can be done, science missions follow.

"When it comes to innovation, MarCO is in the same class as Explorer 1 and Sojourner," Van Zyl said. "The question is: Can we use CubeSats to do more science? Not all science, because they're too limited to carry many instruments. But this technology creates a vehicle for people to do science at a much lower investment to the taxpayer."

NASA has already committed to answering the question. Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of the agency's Science Mission Directorate, is a proponent of CubeSats; last month, he announced NASA will be funding $100 million worth of SmallSat science missions each year.

Preparing for Future CubeSats

MarCO has already laid the groundwork for future exploration with small spacecraft.

"Almost all the features of MarCO are being adapted for use on future spacecraft," said John Baker, the program manager responsible for small spacecraft at JPL. "And many parts started with a commercial partner's product that was modified."

The role of MarCO's commercial partners can't be understated. Its solar panels, cameras, avionics, propulsion systems and attitude control systems were all provided by commercial contractors. One advantage of CubeSats is they can use standardized parts and systems, allowing private companies to lower the price of new technology. Lower-cost spacecraft also mean engineers can take more design risks, testing that technology in space.

Van Zyl said that MarCO's main goal was to prove CubeSats can survive the harsh journey to another planet. MarCO's team can check that box off their list.

They're already focused on their next goal: Mars is just a few months and 68 million miles (110 million kilometers) away.

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ЦитироватьNASAInSight‏ @NASAInSight (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight) 21 ч. назад (https://twitter.com/NASAInSight/status/1045410129867198465)

I'm 60 days from landing on #Mars (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Mars?src=hash)! To ensure my successful Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL), my team begins intensive preparations during the "approach" phase. This happens to be the phase I'm entering right now
More: http://go.nasa.gov/2DEAjOl  (https://t.co/VN0RnUQxZo)

ЦитироватьOct. 12, 2018    45 days before landing
To make sure InSight travels at the right speed and direction to arrive at correct location at the top of the Martian atmosphere before its planned landing.

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/timeline/cruise/

ЦитироватьCrazy Engineering: Space Claw on NASA's InSight Mars Lander

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 16 окт. 2018 г.

When NASA's InSight lands on Mars, it will be the first mission on another planet to use a robotic arm to grasp instruments and place them on the surface. While it may look like an arcade machine, this space claw is designed to come away with a prize every time.

ЦитироватьOct. 22, 2018

NASA's First Image of Mars from a CubeSat

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22742-16_0.jpg)

NASA's MarCO mission was designed to find out if briefcase-sized spacecraft called CubeSats could survive the journey (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7235) to deep space. Now, MarCO – which stands for Mars Cube One – has Mars in sight.

One of the twin MarCO CubeSats snapped this image of Mars on Oct. 3 – the first image of the Red Planet ever produced by this class of tiny, low-cost spacecraft. The two CubeSats are officially called MarCO-A and MarCO-B but nicknamed "EVE" and "Wall-E" by their engineering team.

A wide-angle camera on top of MarCO-B produced the image as a test of exposure settings. The MarCO mission, led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, hopes to produce more images as the CubeSats approach Mars ahead of Nov. 26. That's when they'll demonstrate their communications capabilities while NASA's InSight spacecraft attempts to land on the Red Planet. (The InSight mission won't rely on them, however; NASA's Mars orbiters will be relaying the spacecraft's data back to Earth.)

This image was taken from a distance of roughly 8 million miles (12.8 million kilometers) from Mars. The MarCOs are "chasing" Mars, which is a moving target as it orbits the Sun. In order to be in place for InSight's landing, the CubeSats have to travel roughly 53 million miles (85 million kilometers). They have already traveled 248 million miles (399 million kilometers).

Спойлер

(https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia22742_annotated-16_0.jpg)
One of NASA's twin MarCO spacecraft took this image of Mars on October 2 -- the first time a CubeSat, a kind of low-cost, briefcase-sized spacecraft -- has done so.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

MarCO-B's wide-angle camera looks straight out from the deck of the CubeSat. Parts related to the spacecraft's high-gain antenna are visible on either side of the image. Mars appears as a small red dot at the right of the image.

To take the image, the MarCO team had to program the CubeSat to rotate in space so that the deck of its boxy "body" was pointing at Mars. After several test images, they were excited to see that clear, red pinprick.

"We've been waiting six months to get to Mars," said Cody Colley, MarCO's mission manager at JPL. "The cruise phase of the mission is always difficult, so you take all the small wins when they come. Finally seeing the planet is definitely a big win for the team."

[свернуть]

Last Updated: Oct. 22, 2018
Editor: Jon Nelson

ЦитироватьПервые "межпланетные" наноспутники НАСА получили фотографии Марса
11:38 23.10.2018

(https://cdn1.img.ria.ru/images/153125/55/1531255517.jpg)
© NASA / JPL-Caltech (http://www.nasa.gov/)

МОСКВА, 23 окт – РИА Новости. Пара марсианских зондов MarCO, запущенная в космос вместе с посадочным модулем InSight, успешно вышла из "спячки" и стала первыми наноспутниками, получившими фотографии другой планеты, сообщает (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2018-243) Лаборатория реактивного движения НАСА.

"У нас ушло примерно шесть месяцев на то, чтобы добраться до Марса. Эта фаза миссии всегда была достаточно сложной для марсианских зондов, и поэтому даже маленькие успехи становятся для нас триумфами. Поэтому то, что мы наконец-то увидели Марс, стало большой победой для нас", — заявил Коди Колли (Cody Colley), руководитель миссии в Лаборатории реактивного движения НАСА.

Два миниатюрных спутника системы CubeSat, которые специалисты НАСА окрестили Mars Cube One (MarCO), были запущены в межпланетное пространство в начале мая на борту той же самой ракеты Atlas V, которая вывела автоматическую станцию InSight на курс к Марсу.

Эти наноспутники были созданы НАСА для решения одной простой, но очень интересной задачи – они помогут инженерам космического агентства поддерживать связь InSight с Землей во время посадки на Марс и позволят зрителям увидеть этот процесс в "прямом эфире".

Наноспутники путешествуют к красной планете по своей собственной траектории, что позволит им прибыть к Марсу до посадки InSight на поверхность планеты. Если этот эксперимент закончится удачно, то НАСА может перейти к использованию подобных систем связи для всех последующих планетарных миссий.

Запуск MarCO в НАСА расценивали как осознанный риск – в прошлом никто не пытался отправить микроспутники за пределы орбиты Земли, и не готовил их для межпланетных экспедиций.

Пока эти опасения не оправдываются — MarCO успешно развернули свои антенны и проверили все инструменты, необходимые для "съемок" посадки InSight на поверхность Марса, еще в мае, а сейчас они вплотную сблизились с красной планетой.

В ближайшие несколько дней оба наноспутника включат двигатели и проведут серию маневров, которые выведут их на финальный курс сближения с Марсом. В это же время пилоты миссии получат новые фотографии планеты с более близкого расстояния, и начнут готовиться к организации "прямого включения" с Марса в момент посадки InSight, что произойдет 26 ноября этого года.


РИА Новости https://ria.ru/science/20181023/1531256800.html

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Эх, давно хотел увидеть как выглядит вблизи Исида. Но есть традиция - марсианские аппараты при посадке погибают один из трёх.  :(

Цитироватьsmokan пишет: 
Я чесно говоря больше за MSL беспокоился

ЦитироватьСтарый пишет:
Эх, давно хотел увидеть как выглядит вблизи Исида. Но есть традиция - марсианские аппараты при посадке погибают один из трёх.  :(

ЦитироватьV.B. пишет:
Если они добурят до льда, то определить это смогут только по косвенным признакам - по сопротивлению движению зонда и по распространению тепла около него. Надеюсь они достаточно хорошо научились определять лед при наземных испытаниях, иначе миссия становится совсем неинтересной...

Хотя при мощности прибора 2 ватт вряд ли они вообще смогут глубоко пробурить. Ставлю 100 баксов, что дойдут до глубины не более метра  :)  

ЦитироватьV.B. пишет:
Если они добурят до льда, то определить это смогут только по косвенным признакам - по сопротивлению движению зонда и по распространению тепла около него. Надеюсь они достаточно хорошо научились определять лед при наземных испытаниях, иначе миссия становится совсем неинтересной...

Хотя при мощности прибора 2 ватт вряд ли они вообще смогут глубоко пробурить. Ставлю 100 баксов, что дойдут до глубины не более метра  :)

Цитироватьsmokan пишет: 
Достать до льда вроди была задача Феникса, done.
В Инсайта другая как бы задача.

Цитироватьtestest пишет: 
И давайте не будем вдавливание спицы называть бурением.

ЦитироватьV.B. пишет:

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
И давайте не будем вдавливание спицы называть бурением.

Есть разные виды бурения, в том числе и ударное бурение. Выбранный способ по-моему вполне подходит под это определение. Подробно механизм описан в этом документе (http://esmats.eu/amspapers/pastpapers/pdfs/2016/grygorczuk2.pdf) . Там довольно сложная система, я в ней пока не очень разобрался. Но совершенно точно это не "вдавливание спицы"  :)  

ЦитироватьV.B. пишет:

Цитироватьsmokan пишет:
Достать до льда вроди была задача Феникса, done.
В Инсайта другая как бы задача.

Вот именно что "как бы"  :)  

Официально - да, изучение потоков тепла из недр и бла-бла-бла. Но кому это интересно? Всем интересен именно лед. Просто об этом не говорят, чтобы не порождать ажиотаж и надежды, которые с большой долей вероятности не оправдаются.

Цитироватьsmokan пишет:
Разве тяжело было объявить что инструмент HP3 ко всему еще и будет искать лед по поверхностю, и поставить какой то датчик для оприделения H2O?

Цитироватьsmokan пишет:
И вообще если HP3 для поиска льда, зачем тогда его углублять аж на 5 метров?

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Нет, бурение, вне зависимости от способа, подразумевает создание скважины.

А между вдавливанием и забиванием принципиальной разницы нет.

ЦитироватьNASA Hosts Briefing on November Mars InSight Landing

NASA Video (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_aP7p621ATY_yAa8jMqUVA)

Опубликовано: 31 окт. 2018 г.

NASA's upcoming landing of InSight, the first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars, was the topic of a media briefing on Oct. 31 at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

The InSight Mars Lander (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) will land on the Red Planet at approximately 3 p.m. EST (noon PST) Monday, Nov. 26. InSight will study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky surfaces, including Earth and the Moon, formed. The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes and a probe to monitor the flow of heat in the planet's subsurface.

ЦитироватьInSight Landing on Mars

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCryGec9PdUCLjpJW2mgCuLw)

Опубликовано: 31 окт. 2018 г.

When NASA's InSight descends to the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018, it is guaranteed to be a white-knuckle event. Rob Manning, chief engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, explains the critical steps that must happen in perfect sequence to get the robotic lander safely to the surface.

ЦитироватьEmily Lakdawalla‏ @elakdawalla (https://twitter.com/elakdawalla) 5 мин. назад (https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/1062014004321673216)

What to Expect When InSight Lands on Mars: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2018/mars-insight-landing-preview.html ... (https://t.co/JfaDgGHrBJ) I've got ALL the details for you. Follow along Monday, November 26!

ЦитироватьNovember 13, 2018

NASA Brings Mars Landing to Viewers Everywhere


This illustration shows a simulated view of NASA's InSight lander firing retrorockets to slow down as it descends toward the surface of Mars. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption. (https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/22099)

NASA's Mars Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight)) lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet at approximately noon PST (3 p.m. EST) on Nov. 26, and viewers everywhere can watch coverage of the event live on NASA Television, the agency's website (https://www.nasa.gov/live) and social media platforms.

Launched on May 5, InSight marks NASA's first Mars landing since the Curiosity rover in 2012. The landing will kick off a two-year mission in which InSight will become the first spacecraft to study Mars' deep interior. Its data also will help scientists understand the formation of all rocky worlds, including our own.

InSight is being followed to Mars by two miniature NASA spacecraft, jointly called Mars Cube One (MarCO (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php)), the first deep-space mission for CubeSats. If MarCO makes its planned Mars flyby, it will attempt to relay data from InSight as it enters the planet's atmosphere and lands.

InSight and MarCO flight controllers will monitor the spacecraft's entry, descent and landing from Mission Control at JPL.

Broadcast Schedule

All NASA TV news conferences will be available on the agency's website at www.nasa.gov/live (http://www.nasa.gov/live). Briefing times and speakers are subject to change. The public may ask questions on social media during the events by tagging them with #askNASA.

Wednesday, Nov. 21

[/li]
• 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) – News conference: Mission engineering overview
• 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) – News conference: Mission science overview
  

Sunday, Nov. 25

[/li]
• 10 a.m. PST (1 p.m. EST) – News conference: Final pre-landing update
• 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST) – NASA Social: InSight team Q&A
  

Monday, Nov. 26: Landing Day

[/li]
• 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PST (2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EST) – Live landing commentary on the NASA TV Public Channel and online. In addition, an uninterrupted, clean feed of cameras from inside JPL mission control, with mission audio only, will be available at the same time on the NASA TV Media Channel, at www.nasa.gov/ntv (http://www.nasa.gov/ntv) and at https://www.youtube.com/user/JPLraw/live.
• About 12 noon PST (3 p.m. EST) – Expected time of InSight touchdown on Mars
• No earlier than 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) – Post-landing news conference
  

To watch news conferences and commentary online, you can also visit: http://www.youtube.com/nasajpl/live

A complete list of ways to watch online can be found at: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/timeline/landing/watch-online/

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 21:43 (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1063306594467946496) - 15 нояб. 2018 г.

The Mars Insight, MARCO-A, and MARCO-B space probes, in a 1.01 x 1.43 AU x 2.2 deg solar orbit, are now under one week away from entering Mars' gravitational sphere of influence.


22:31 (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1063318690865823744) - 15 нояб. 2018 г.

After the encounter, MARCO-A and MARCO-B will be in 1.14 x 1.60 AU x 1.4 deg and 1.13 x 1.56 AU x 1.4 deg solar orbits.

ЦитироватьJonathan McDowell‏Подлинная учетная запись @planet4589 (https://twitter.com/planet4589) 21:58 (https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1063310209098178560) - 15 нояб. 2018 г.

The current trajectories on Horizons suggest that MARCO-A and MARCO-B will have periares heights of 1626 and 2076 km respectively. Periares will occur about 3 min before Insight's touchdown.

Цитировать[InSight] Le sismomètre français SEIS

CNES (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOixknKUV8AaCA5uaaBY0Bw)

Опубликовано: 16 нояб. 2018 г.

SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structures) est l'instrument principal de la mission américaine InSight. Mis au point par le CNES, il doit mesurer l'activité sismique encore inconnue de la planète Mars. Explications.

ЦитироватьNov. 16, 2018

How NASA Will Know When InSight Touches Down


This image depicts the MarCO CubeSats relaying data from NASA's InSight lander as it enters the Martian atmosphere.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Full image and animation (https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22738)

What's the sound of a touchdown on Mars?

If you're at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it sounds like winning the Super Bowl: cheers, laughter and lots of hollering.

But in the minutes before that, NASA's InSight team will be monitoring the Mars lander's radio signals using a variety of spacecraft — and even radio telescopes here on Earth — to suss out what's happening 91 million miles (146 million km) away.

Because these signals are captured by several spacecraft, they're relayed to Earth in different ways and at different times. That means the mission team may know right away when InSight touches down, or they may have to wait up to several hours.

Here's how NASA will be listening for the next Mars landing on Nov. 26.

Radio Telescopes

Спойлер

As the InSight lander descends into Mars' atmosphere, it will broadcast simple radio signals called "tones" back to Earth. Engineers will be tuning in from two locations: the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy's facility at Effelsberg, Germany. Their results will be relayed to Mission Control at JPL and engineers at Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

These tones don't reveal much information, but radio engineers can interpret them to track key events during InSight's entry, descent and landing (EDL). For example, when InSight deploys its parachute, a shift in velocity changes the frequency of the signal. This is caused by what's called the Doppler effect, which is the same thing that occurs when you hear a siren change in pitch as an ambulance goes by. Looking for signals like these will allow the team to know how InSight's EDL is progressing.

[свернуть]

Mars Cube One (MarCO)

Two briefcase-sized spacecraft are flying behind InSight and will attempt to relay its signals to Earth. Belonging to a class of spacecraft called CubeSats, the MarCOs are being tested as a way for future missions to send home data during EDL.

The MarCOs are experimental technology. But if they work as they should, the pair will transmit the whole story of EDL as it's unfolding. That might include an image from InSight of the Martian surface right after the lander touches down.

InSight

After it touches down, InSight will essentially yell, "I made it!" Seven minutes later, the spacecraft says it again — but a little louder and clearer.

The first time, it will communicate with a tone beacon that the radio telescopes will try to detect. The second time, it will send a "beep" from its more powerful X-band antenna, which should now be pointed at Earth. This beep includes slightly more information and is only heard if the spacecraft is in a healthy, functioning state. If NASA's Deep Space Network picks up this beep, it's a good sign that InSight survived landing. Engineers will need to wait until early evening to find out if the lander successfully deployed its solar arrays.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

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Besides the MarCO CubeSats, NASA's MRO will be soaring over Mars, recording InSight's data during descent.

MRO will hold on to the data it records during EDL as it disappears over the Martian horizon. When it comes back around from the other side, it will play back that data for engineers to study. By 3 p.m. PST (6 p.m. EST), they should be able to piece together MRO's recording of the landing.

MRO's recording is similar to an airplane's black box, which means that it could also prove important if InSight doesn't successfully touch down.

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2001 Mars Odyssey

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NASA's longest-lived spacecraft at Mars will also relay data after InSight has touched down. Odyssey will relay the entire history of InSight's descent to Mars, as well as a couple images. It will also relay confirmation that InSight's solar arrays, which are vital to the spacecraft's survival, fully deployed. Engineers will have this data just before 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST).

Odyssey will also serve as a data relay for InSight during surface operations, along with MRO, NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission (MAVEN) and the European Space Agency's Trace Gas Orbiter.

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About InSight

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JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built the InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, and supports spacecraft operations for the mission.

A number of European partners, including France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/seis/)) instrument, with significant contributions from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland, Imperial College and Oxford University in the United Kingdom, and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3 (https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/mission/instruments/hp3/)) instrument, with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika in Poland. Spain's Centro de Astrobiología (CAB) supplied the wind sensors.

For more information about InSight, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/

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Andrew Good
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-2433
andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov (mailto:andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov)
2018-264

Last Updated: Nov. 16, 2018
Editor: Tony Greicius

ЦитироватьV.B. пишет:

Цитироватьtestest пишет:
Нет, бурение, вне зависимости от способа, подразумевает создание скважины.

А между вдавливанием и забиванием принципиальной разницы нет.

Дык там и получается скважина, только из нее не извлечена разрушенная порода.

ЦитироватьА пенетратор ("крот" [Шутливо] лезет в глубину сам, его никто не вдавливает и не забивает.

Цитировать«Мы очень этого ждем. Нет ничего удивительнее посадки на Марс. Мы полностью готовы к этому событию. По крайней мере, настолько, насколько это возможно», — комментирует руководитель миссии InSight Том Хоффман.

[/li]
• Скорость снижения посадочного модуля InSight в момент входа в атмосферу составит почти 21 тысячу километров в час;
• Тепловой защитный экран модуля разогреется почти 1400 градуса Цельсия – достаточно для того чтобы расплавить сталь. Такая температура будет удерживаться в течение 3,5 минуты до того момента, как будет раскрыт посадочный парашют. Спустя 30 секунд после раскрытия парашюта модуль сбросит тепловой экран;
• Сразу же после этого включится набортный радар, который начнет пеленговать поверхность планеты. С каждым сигналом пеленга аппарат будет производить расчеты расстояния до поверхности, а также скорости своего снижения;
• Примерно за 40 секунд до посадки InSight сбросит всю посадочную экипировку и около минуты будет находиться в свободном падении. Для предотвращения запутывания в парашюте и столкновения с тепловым экраном аппарат начнет раскручиваться, немного отойдя от изначальной области снижения;
• За несколько секунд до соприкосновения с поверхностью планеты InSight включит свои посадочные двигатели. Менее чем за 7 минут модуль замедлится со скорости 21 000 км/ч до 8 км/ч.
  

Цитировать«Как только мы получим подтверждение успешной посадки и первую фотографию с поверхности, команда, проводившая подготовку и координирование посадки, пойдет отдыхать и праздновать. Остальные же приступят к научной части этой миссии. В конце концов основная цель этой миссии – научное исследование. Этим мы и займемся», — комментирует Хоффман.

Цитировать«Любая успешная посадка на Марс – настоящее событие. Дело в том, что общий международный объем успешных высадок на Красную планету невелик. Он составляет всего около 40 процентов. Другими словами, посадка на Марс – всегда настоящее испытание», — подытоживает Хоффман.