https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/25/nasa-probe-challenge-land-mars-safely

1 Seismometer

Will record tremors from geological faults on Mars and shockwaves created by meteors that strike the ground

2 The Rise experiment

The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (Rise) uses radio equipment to track the precise position of the lander on the surface to reveal how much Mars wobbles as it orbits the sun. This is key to determining the size of Mars’s core and whether it is liquid or solid

3 Heat flow probe

Will burrow 5 metres into the ground to measure how fast heat rises from the planet’s interior.

Mollwollfumble has been waiting a long time for these three experiments. All three were present in some form on ALSEP, the experiment landed on the Moon by Apollo 11. It has been something of a long wait from 1969 to 2018 to see them landed on Mars.

mollwollfumble said:

https://amp.theguardian.com/science/2018/nov/25/nasa-probe-challenge-land-mars-safely

1 Seismometer

Will record tremors from geological faults on Mars and shockwaves created by meteors that strike the ground

2 The Rise experiment

The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (Rise) uses radio equipment to track the precise position of the lander on the surface to reveal how much Mars wobbles as it orbits the sun. This is key to determining the size of Mars’s core and whether it is liquid or solid

3 Heat flow probe

Will burrow 5 metres into the ground to measure how fast heat rises from the planet’s interior.

Mollwollfumble has been waiting a long time for these three experiments. All three were present in some form on ALSEP, the experiment landed on the Moon by Apollo 11. It has been something of a long wait from 1969 to 2018 to see them landed on Mars.

Https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-11-26/mars-insight-nasa-mission-to-take-the-red-planets-pulse/10490342

Has it landed yet? When exactly is it landing?

Should be an interesting mission assuming they can land the sucker..

Compared with Phoenix, though, InSight’s landing presents four added challenges:

InSight enters the atmosphere at a lower velocity — 12,300 miles per hour (5.5 kilometers per second) vs. 12,500 miles per hour (5.6 kilometers per second).
InSight has more mass entering the atmosphere — about 1,340 pounds (608 kilograms) vs. 1,263 pounds (573 kilograms).
InSight lands at an elevation of about 4,900 feet (1.5 kilometers) higher than Phoenix did, so it has less atmosphere to use for deceleration.
InSight lands during northern hemisphere autumn on Mars, when dust storms are known to have grown to global proportions in some prior years.

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/timeline/landing/entry-descent-landing/

So far as I can tell, it was supposed to land about 4 hours ago. Not a whisper of how the landing went on the web.

mollwollfumble said:

So far as I can tell, it was supposed to land about 4 hours ago. Not a whisper of how the landing went on the web.

Oops. No, I got the date wrong. Due to land roughly 20 hours from now.

Here’s how you can watch, from the comfort of planet Earth: NASA TV will be broadcasting the landing live online between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday (Nov. 26). You can also watch the landing on other sites such as Facebook and Space.com.

You’ll have to work out the aussie time.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

So far as I can tell, it was supposed to land about 4 hours ago. Not a whisper of how the landing went on the web.

Oops. No, I got the date wrong. Due to land roughly 20 hours from now.

Good.

Like InSight, these two small spacecraft, together called Mars Cube One (or MarCO), will be boosted to a Mars-bound interplanetary trajectory. After trailing InSight on its way through the solar system, the solar-powered cubesats will serve as critical data relays while InSight plunges into the Martian atmosphere – where it will deploy a parachute at high speeds to slow down and finally use 12 small descent engines to lower itself to the surface.

Without these twin cubesats, data from the InSight probe that is relayed via the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter can be delayed by as much as an hour because the Reconnaissance Orbiter has limitations on its ability to both receive and transmit simultaneously. MarCO will act like a ‘bring your own’ data relay, giving NASA prompt information about InSight’s landing (after the signals have traversed the distance from Mars to Earth of course).

Peak Warming Man said:

Here’s how you can watch, from the comfort of planet Earth: NASA TV will be broadcasting the landing live online between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday (Nov. 26). You can also watch the landing on other sites such as Facebook and Space.com.

You’ll have to work out the aussie time.

https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Here’s how you can watch, from the comfort of planet Earth: NASA TV will be broadcasting the landing live online between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday (Nov. 26). You can also watch the landing on other sites such as Facebook and Space.com.

You’ll have to work out the aussie time.

https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

A note from NASA TV. On earth, it normally takes three seismometers to locate an Earthquake.

On Mars, they’re trying to do it with one, and they may succeed. Because Mars is more solid, they catch seismic waves both from the actual event and from the opposite point after the surface waves have travelled more than 180 degrees around the planet. That gives a distance to the source, and it’s hoped that further processing will give the direction. The seismometer is supposed to be accurate enough to measure a deflection equivalent to one atom diameter.

The heat transfer experiment has it’s own little dome containment, with a rigid top dome, an accordion under that, and a bottom of chain mail to seal against the ground to protect the heat flux sensor from the wind. That gives about a 7.5 hour time delay in heat between the surface and the sensor.

MARCO is the pair of cubesats on their way to Mars. They will relay data from InSight back to Earth in X band. The camera on MARCO is still under test, operations staff are learning more with each photograph. They don’t know yet what MARCO’s orbit will be, or how many pictures it will take. MARCO has a pretty amazing little antenna – a flat screen that acts like a parabolic reflector – to communicate with Earth.

mollwollfumble said:

Michael V said:

Peak Warming Man said:

Here’s how you can watch, from the comfort of planet Earth: NASA TV will be broadcasting the landing live online between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET on Monday (Nov. 26). You can also watch the landing on other sites such as Facebook and Space.com.

You’ll have to work out the aussie time.

https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

A note from NASA TV. On earth, it normally takes three seismometers to locate an Earthquake.

On Mars, they’re trying to do it with one, and they may succeed. Because Mars is more solid, they catch seismic waves both from the actual event and from the opposite point after the surface waves have travelled more than 180 degrees around the planet. That gives a distance to the source, and it’s hoped that further processing will give the direction. The seismometer is supposed to be accurate enough to measure a deflection equivalent to one atom diameter.

The heat transfer experiment has it’s own little dome containment, with a rigid top dome, an accordion under that, and a bottom of chain mail to seal against the ground to protect the heat flux sensor from the wind. That gives about a 7.5 hour time delay in heat between the surface and the sensor.

MARCO is the pair of cubesats on their way to Mars. They will relay data from InSight back to Earth in X band. The camera on MARCO is still under test, operations staff are learning more with each photograph. They don’t know yet what MARCO’s orbit will be, or how many pictures it will take. MARCO has a pretty amazing little antenna – a flat screen that acts like a parabolic reflector – to communicate with Earth.

I bet it spends all it time with its eyes closed wandering around calling out for POLO

https://mars.nasa.gov/resources/6981/landing-site-for-insight/?site=insight

There is supposed to be a website that doesn’t exist yet. “For the latest updates and more information about how to watch InSight landing, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/insighttoolkit “.

There are many places with official InSight landing parties, but they’re all in USA and Europe (except for one off the coast of Madagascar).

Online places. https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/timeline/landing/watch-online/

NASA Facebook Live Landing Coverage
NASA Periscope Live Landing Coverage
NASA Twitch Live Landing Coverage
NASA TV Media Live Landing Coverage (clean feed for media)
NASA TV Public Live Landing Coverage Post-landing Briefing
NASA Website Live Landing Coverage Post-landing Briefing
NASAJPL Facebook Live Landing Coverage (360 video)
NASAJPL YouTube Live Landing Coverage
NASAJPL Ustream Live Landing Coverage
NASAJPL2 Ustream Live Landing Coverage (clean feed for media)
JPLRaw YouTube Live Landing Coverage (clean feed for media)

mollwollfumble said:

That landing graphic has given Insight a tick for a successful landing????
Has it landed???

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

That landing graphic has given Insight a tick for a successful landing????
Has it landed???

look again, that tick is for Curiosity.

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

That landing graphic has given Insight a tick for a successful landing????
Has it landed???

No, it’ll be landing tomorrow morning. Just before 7am our time.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-11-26/mars-insight-nasa-mission-to-take-the-red-planets-pulse/10490342

JudgeMental said:

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

That landing graphic has given Insight a tick for a successful landing????
Has it landed???

look again, that tick is for Curiosity.

Yes, I got excited I’d found a mistake on the internet and went early.

Bubblecar said:

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

That landing graphic has given Insight a tick for a successful landing????
Has it landed???

No, it’ll be landing tomorrow morning. Just before 7am our time.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-11-26/mars-insight-nasa-mission-to-take-the-red-planets-pulse/10490342

I’ll be there guiding it in every step of the way.
rubs hands

One hour to Mars landing coverage on NASA TV

mollwollfumble said:

One hour to Mars landing coverage on NASA TV

Mars landing coverage starting now.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

One hour to Mars landing coverage on NASA TV

Mars landing coverage starting now.

The landing itself will be shortly before 8 am Sydney time.

They have to let the dust settle, literally, before unfurling the solar arrays. That’s five and a half hours after landing before we’ll know if they deployed correctly.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

One hour to Mars landing coverage on NASA TV

Mars landing coverage starting now.

The landing itself will be shortly before 8 am Sydney time.

They have to let the dust settle, literally, before unfurling the solar arrays. That’s five and a half hours after landing before we’ll know if they deployed correctly.

The landing strategy is heavily based on Phoenix, not Curiosity or Opportunity. The parachute is stronger, deploys higher because the ground altitude is higher (less atmosphere) and the spacecraft is heavier.

Dang it, before 7 am. That’s twice I’ve got the landing time wrong.

The four communications relay satellites are in place and working, including both MARCOs.

mollwollfumble said:

The four communications relay satellites are in place and working, including both MARCOs.

Both MARCOs now relaying information from Insight’s carrier.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

The four communications relay satellites are in place and working, including both MARCOs.

Both MARCOs now relaying information from Insight’s carrier.

Stations on ground Earth have confirmed that InSight is transmitting UHF. MARCO transmists on a different band, X-band.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

The four communications relay satellites are in place and working, including both MARCOs.

Both MARCOs now relaying information from Insight’s carrier.

Stations on ground Earth have confirmed that InSight is transmitting UHF. MARCO transmists on a different band, X-band.

Will be 1/2 minute between entry and the first deceleration, 6 1/2 minutes between entry and landing.

JPL nerds looking happy…….

…standby………

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Both MARCOs now relaying information from Insight’s carrier.

Stations on ground Earth have confirmed that InSight is transmitting UHF. MARCO transmists on a different band, X-band.

Will be 1/2 minute between entry and the first deceleration, 6 1/2 minutes between entry and landing.

Peak heating rate now

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Stations on ground Earth have confirmed that InSight is transmitting UHF. MARCO transmists on a different band, X-band.

Will be 1/2 minute between entry and the first deceleration, 6 1/2 minutes between entry and landing.

Peak heating rate now

Passed peak deceleration, down to 8 Gs from a peak of 12.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Will be 1/2 minute between entry and the first deceleration, 6 1/2 minutes between entry and landing.

Peak heating rate now

Passed peak deceleration, down to 8 Gs from a peak of 12.

Parachute deploy

Radar lock on ground at a height of 1 km

Looking good.

mollwollfumble said:

Radar lock on ground at a height of 1 km

200 metres 80, 60 50, 37, 20, 17 metres

Touchdown.

Touch down, the yanks are good at this stuff.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Radar lock on ground at a height of 1 km

200 metres 80, 60 50, 37, 20, 17 metres

Touchdown.

:)

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Radar lock on ground at a height of 1 km

200 metres 80, 60 50, 37, 20, 17 metres

Touchdown.

Now to wait for the dust to settle. Literally. Not sure when we can expect to see the camera image, a 120 degree fisheye lens is mounted underneath the spacecraft.

Only 5 to 10 minutes before solar panels open.

Camera image. Got it. Lots of dust on the lens but can see the horizon. Great.

Damn, forgot all about this.

Still it looks like I wasn’t needed.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

Radar lock on ground at a height of 1 km

200 metres 80, 60 50, 37, 20, 17 metres

Touchdown.

Now to wait for the dust to settle. Literally. Not sure when we can expect to see the camera image, a 120 degree fisheye lens is mounted underneath the spacecraft.

Only 5 to 10 minutes before solar panels open.

Camera image. Got it. Lots of dust on the lens but can see the horizon. Great.

Some rocks visible in image. Will clean the lens with alcohol and get a better image later.

A possibility that Curiosity will have been able to see the parachute descent.

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

mollwollfumble said:

200 metres 80, 60 50, 37, 20, 17 metres

Touchdown.

Now to wait for the dust to settle. Literally. Not sure when we can expect to see the camera image, a 120 degree fisheye lens is mounted underneath the spacecraft.

Only 5 to 10 minutes before solar panels open.

Camera image. Got it. Lots of dust on the lens but can see the horizon. Great.

Some rocks visible in image. Will clean the lens with alcohol and get a better image later.

A possibility that Curiosity will have been able to see the parachute descent.

The relay satellites have or soon will be out of position. So we have to wait until Mars Odyssey comes in range in 5 hours or so to find out if the solar panels are deploying properly.

There’s a dude walking around with a hat on.

Peak Warming Man said:

There’s a dude walking around with a hat on.

what, on Mars????

mollwollfumble said:

The relay satellites have or soon will be out of position. So we have to wait until Mars Odyssey comes in range in 5 hours or so to find out if the solar panels are deploying properly.

I won’t be happy until the solar panels deploy. If you remember, Beagle landed perfectly but had to be written off because one of the solar panels didn’t deploy.

JudgeMental said:

Peak Warming Man said:

There’s a dude walking around with a hat on.

what, on Mars????

hehe.

Peak Warming Man said:

JudgeMental said:

Peak Warming Man said:

There’s a dude walking around with a hat on.

what, on Mars????

hehe.

Fucking Musk.

sibeen said:

Peak Warming Man said:

JudgeMental said:

what, on Mars????

hehe.

Fucking Musk.

and how does swmbo feel about that?

JudgeMental said:

sibeen said:

Peak Warming Man said:

hehe.

Fucking Musk.

and how does swmbo feel about that?

snigger

Hopefully someone down there will be able to give that a good wipe, without expecting a tip.

Bubblecar said:

Hopefully someone down there will be able to give that a good wipe, without expecting a tip.

Did they stop at a city intersection?

Bugger, I missed it.

Have they found aliens yet?

Spiny Norman said:

Bugger, I missed it.

Have they found aliens yet?

Give them a chance, they’re still waiting for the dust to settle.

Bubblecar said:

Spiny Norman said:

Bugger, I missed it.

Have they found aliens yet?

Give them a chance, they’re still waiting for the dust to settle.

With the very tenuous atmosphere that Mars has, I wouldn’t have thought that it’d take very long. The really fine dust particles do hang around though.

Bubblecar said:

Spiny Norman said:

Bugger, I missed it.

Have they found aliens yet?

Give them a chance, they’re still waiting for the dust to settle.

Yeah, something large descends from the sky, fires off some rocket motors, lands in your backyard, would you dash out right away and start poking at it with sticks?

No, you watch and wait, see if all the pyrotechnics are finished, see if there’s any more of them coming, maybe get on the phone to Alan Jones, and complain that you thought the boats had been stopped.

Now I’m’ happy. The solar panels have opened and the camera is clean.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/insight-is-catching-rays-on-mars

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22575

The Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), located on the robotic arm of NASA’s InSight lander, took this picture off the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018, the same day the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet. The camera’s transparent dust cover is still on in this image, to prevent particulates kicked up during landing from settling on the camera’s lens. This image was relayed from InSight to Earth via NASA’s Odyssey spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars.

NASA’s InSight has sent signals to Earth indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface. NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter relayed the signals, which were received on Earth at about 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST). Solar array deployment ensures the spacecraft can recharge its batteries each day. Odyssey also relayed a pair of images showing InSight’s landing site.

“The InSight team and mollwollfumble can rest a little easier tonight now that we know the spacecraft solar arrays are deployed and recharging the batteries,”

It’s been a long day for the team. But tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase.

InSight’s twin solar arrays are each 2.2 meters wide; when they’re open, the entire lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible. Mars has weaker sunlight than Earth because it’s much farther away from the Sun. But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

❤️❤️❤️

mollwollfumble said:

Now I’m’ happy. The solar panels have opened and the camera is clean.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/insight-is-catching-rays-on-mars

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22575

The Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), located on the robotic arm of NASA’s InSight lander, took this picture off the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018, the same day the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet. The camera’s transparent dust cover is still on in this image, to prevent particulates kicked up during landing from settling on the camera’s lens. This image was relayed from InSight to Earth via NASA’s Odyssey spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars.

NASA’s InSight has sent signals to Earth indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface. NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter relayed the signals, which were received on Earth at about 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST). Solar array deployment ensures the spacecraft can recharge its batteries each day. Odyssey also relayed a pair of images showing InSight’s landing site.

“The InSight team and mollwollfumble can rest a little easier tonight now that we know the spacecraft solar arrays are deployed and recharging the batteries,”

It’s been a long day for the team. But tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase.

InSight’s twin solar arrays are each 2.2 meters wide; when they’re open, the entire lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible. Mars has weaker sunlight than Earth because it’s much farther away from the Sun. But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

That is a stunning photograph.

mollwollfumble said:

But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

How often does Mars have clear days?

Divine Angel said:

mollwollfumble said:

But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

How often does Mars have clear days?

Except for the occasional dust storm, every day. It’s not as if it is going to rain.

mollwollfumble said:

Now I’m’ happy. The solar panels have opened and the camera is clean.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/insight-is-catching-rays-on-mars

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22575

The Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), located on the robotic arm of NASA’s InSight lander, took this picture off the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018, the same day the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet. The camera’s transparent dust cover is still on in this image, to prevent particulates kicked up during landing from settling on the camera’s lens. This image was relayed from InSight to Earth via NASA’s Odyssey spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars.

NASA’s InSight has sent signals to Earth indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface. NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter relayed the signals, which were received on Earth at about 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST). Solar array deployment ensures the spacecraft can recharge its batteries each day. Odyssey also relayed a pair of images showing InSight’s landing site.

“The InSight team and mollwollfumble can rest a little easier tonight now that we know the spacecraft solar arrays are deployed and recharging the batteries,”

It’s been a long day for the team. But tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase.

InSight’s twin solar arrays are each 2.2 meters wide; when they’re open, the entire lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible. Mars has weaker sunlight than Earth because it’s much farther away from the Sun. But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

I think I can see my house from there

sibeen said:

Divine Angel said:

mollwollfumble said:

But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

How often does Mars have clear days?

Except for the occasional dust storm, every day. It’s not as if it is going to rain.

The internet tells me that Mars receives a flux of ~593 W/m 2 from the sun.

I thought it would be less than that.

I thought dust storms were regular occurrences, not occasional.

The Rev Dodgson said:

sibeen said:

Divine Angel said:

How often does Mars have clear days?

Except for the occasional dust storm, every day. It’s not as if it is going to rain.

The internet tells me that Mars receives a flux of ~593 W/m 2 from the sun.

I thought it would be less than that.

I thought it would be less than that, too. Say 1367 W/m2 for Earth at Equator. Divide by square of Mars orbit. 1367 / 1.5^2 = 600 W/m2. No, it’s right.

Divine Angel said:

I thought dust storms were regular occurrences, not occasional.

Wikipedia makes no sense. “The chance for storms is increased when there are great temperature variations like those seen at the equator during the Martian summer.” When it’s summer in the north it’s winter in the south and vice versa, doesn’t apply on the equator.

“Dust storms are most common during perihelion, when the planet receives 40 percent more sunlight than during aphelion.” That makes more sense.

Global dust storms have been observed on Mars in 1971, 2001, 2007 and 2018. “chances of a planet-wide dust storm in a particular Martian year are approximately one in three”.

Oh I gotta share this. Bored Panda has posted pictures of InSight’s landing. As misinterpreted in Photoshop and other ways.

https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-nasa-insight-mars-landing-reactions/

mollwollfumble said:

Oh I gotta share this. Bored Panda has posted pictures of InSight’s landing. As misinterpreted in Photoshop and other ways.

https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-nasa-insight-mars-landing-reactions/

:)

Compare InSight to Phoenix.

InSight

Phoenix

Identical. Almost. Same descent and landing method, too.

mollwollfumble said:

Now I’m’ happy. The solar panels have opened and the camera is clean.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/insight-is-catching-rays-on-mars

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22575

The Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), located on the robotic arm of NASA’s InSight lander, took this picture off the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018, the same day the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet. The camera’s transparent dust cover is still on in this image, to prevent particulates kicked up during landing from settling on the camera’s lens. This image was relayed from InSight to Earth via NASA’s Odyssey spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars.

NASA’s InSight has sent signals to Earth indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface. NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter relayed the signals, which were received on Earth at about 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST). Solar array deployment ensures the spacecraft can recharge its batteries each day. Odyssey also relayed a pair of images showing InSight’s landing site.

“The InSight team and mollwollfumble can rest a little easier tonight now that we know the spacecraft solar arrays are deployed and recharging the batteries,”

It’s been a long day for the team. But tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase.

InSight’s twin solar arrays are each 2.2 meters wide; when they’re open, the entire lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible. Mars has weaker sunlight than Earth because it’s much farther away from the Sun. But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

Have all the panels deployed correctly, one looks to be still sticking up in that phots?

Peak Warming Man said:

mollwollfumble said:

Now I’m’ happy. The solar panels have opened and the camera is clean.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/insight-is-catching-rays-on-mars

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA22575

The Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), located on the robotic arm of NASA’s InSight lander, took this picture off the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018, the same day the spacecraft touched down on the Red Planet. The camera’s transparent dust cover is still on in this image, to prevent particulates kicked up during landing from settling on the camera’s lens. This image was relayed from InSight to Earth via NASA’s Odyssey spacecraft, currently orbiting Mars.

NASA’s InSight has sent signals to Earth indicating that its solar panels are open and collecting sunlight on the Martian surface. NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter relayed the signals, which were received on Earth at about 5:30 p.m. PST (8:30 p.m. EST). Solar array deployment ensures the spacecraft can recharge its batteries each day. Odyssey also relayed a pair of images showing InSight’s landing site.

“The InSight team and mollwollfumble can rest a little easier tonight now that we know the spacecraft solar arrays are deployed and recharging the batteries,”

It’s been a long day for the team. But tomorrow begins an exciting new chapter for InSight: surface operations and the beginning of the instrument deployment phase.

InSight’s twin solar arrays are each 2.2 meters wide; when they’re open, the entire lander is about the size of a big 1960s convertible. Mars has weaker sunlight than Earth because it’s much farther away from the Sun. But the lander doesn’t need much to operate: The panels provide 600 to 700 watts on a clear day.

Have all the panels deployed correctly, one looks to be still sticking up in that phots?

Is it? I haven’t seen that. All I know for sure is that it’s getting plenty of solar power.

Some more humour.