NASA InSight Still Hunting Marsquakes as Power Runs Down (News Audio + Visuals)



In November 2018, NASA InSight landed in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars with the goal of studying the planet’s deep interior for the first time by using seismic signals to learn more about the properties of the planet’s crust, mantle, and core. In a teleconference, agency leadership and mission team members highlighted the spacecraft’s science accomplishments, shared details on its power situation, and discussed its future.

Speakers:
Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters
Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Kathya Zamora Garcia, InSight deputy project manager, JPL

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

(Original Air Date: May 17, 2022)

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21 thoughts on “NASA InSight Still Hunting Marsquakes as Power Runs Down (News Audio + Visuals)”

  1. Thermodynamics states that a pressurized system cannot exist next to a vacuum without a solid barrier.

    Yet the globe model has a pressurized atmosphere which exists next to space which is a vacuum.

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  2. I wonder if anyone from JPL reads the comments. I am somewhat curious as to why there was no effective mechanism to clean the solar panels. The arm appears to have some lifting capability, considering the science instruments it placed on the ground, and a similar "lifting nub" (as on the science packages) on the far end of the panels would have provided a mechanism to lift the panels. Off course there would also have to have been a hinge, allowing the panels to be lifted. It is just that the dust issue is well known, but no one is addressing it.

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  3. I have no way of proving I knew this would happen. I always said before this craft went up that they needed some sort of wiper with no fluid to keep the panels clean. I really don't understand why the scientist did not think of this. I thought this because the panels on earth have to be clean and also areas where there is a volcano eruption must be sort of like Mars, (after all they are always saying it is dusty).

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  4. Most electronic products come with a thin film that can be peeled off after unboxing. Some people leave it on. I have previously suggested covering the panels (and other delicate instruments) with a similar film. Perhaps the film can be kept on for a year or longer. When the dust gets heavy, peel off the film and the panels are like new. While the film might block a small percentage of the sun, the net gain is huge. This might also help for the landing that kicks up a lot of dust. I am not sure if film should actually touch the panels, given Mars temperature. The film must be peelable and not stick.

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