Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984
NASA's InSight lander has deployed its first instrument onto the surface of Mars, completing a major mission milestone. New images from the lander show the seismometer on the ground, its copper-colored covering faintly illuminated in the Martian dusk. It looks as if all is calm and all is bright for InSight, heading into the end of the year.
"InSight's timetable of activities on Mars has gone better than we hoped," said InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman, who is based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Getting the seismometer safely on the ground is an awesome Christmas present."
The InSight team has been working carefully toward deploying its two dedicated science instruments onto Martian soil since landing on Mars on Nov. 26. Meanwhile, the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), which does not have its own separate instrument, has already begun using InSight's radio connection with Earth to collect preliminary data on the planet's core. Not enough time has elapsed for scientists to deduce what they want to know -- scientists estimate they might have some results starting in about a year.
[...] On Tuesday, Dec. 18, InSight engineers sent up the commands to the spacecraft. On Wednesday, Dec. 19, the seismometer was gently placed onto the ground directly in front of the lander, about as far away as the arm can reach -- 5.367 feet, or 1.636 meters, away).
"Seismometer deployment is as important as landing InSight on Mars," said InSight Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt, also based at JPL. "The seismometer is the highest-priority instrument on InSight: We need it in order to complete about three-quarters of our science objectives."
The seismometer allows scientists to peer into the Martian interior by studying ground motion -- also known as marsquakes. Each marsquake acts as a kind of flashbulb that illuminates the structure of the planet's interior. By analyzing how seismic waves pass through the layers of the planet, scientists can deduce the depth and composition of these layers.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181221161601.htm
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday December 24 2018, @09:42PM (2 children)
We have an agreement with the Martians. We don't lay down two instruments, they don't kidnap Santa Claus.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday December 25 2018, @03:31AM (1 child)
Ah! Okay, thanks.
I was wondering what was going on there.
Is this an agreement they have with Donald Trump?
:)
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday December 25 2018, @04:19AM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Conquers_the_Martians [wikipedia.org] (public domain film)
Also going to drop this here [arstechnica.com] since nobody made an Xmas journal.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]