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#300
by
Rondaz
on 09 Nov, 2022 10:09
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#301
by
penguin44
on 11 Nov, 2022 18:45
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she's hanging in there
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#302
by
Rondaz
on 22 Nov, 2022 00:34
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NASA InSight’s Power Level as of Nov. 21, 2022
Author Tony Greicius Posted on November 21, 2022
As of Nov. 21, 2022, InSight is generating an average between 300 and 310 watt-hours of energy per Martian day, or sol. The tau, or level of dust cover in the atmosphere, was estimated at 1.33 (typical tau levels outside of dust season range from 0.6-0.7).
https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/2022/11/21/nasa-insights-power-level-as-of-nov-21-2022/
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#303
by
Rondaz
on 30 Nov, 2022 17:33
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#304
by
Blackstar
on 30 Nov, 2022 17:39
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she's hanging in there
Back in the spring, I remember predictions that InSight would be inoperable by June. Does anybody remember seeing that stated by NASA? (I guess I should look up-thread.)
But yeah, I don't think NASA expected the mission to still be operating in late November.
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#305
by
whitelancer64
on 30 Nov, 2022 17:58
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she's hanging in there
Back in the spring, I remember predictions that InSight would be inoperable by June. Does anybody remember seeing that stated by NASA? (I guess I should look up-thread.)
But yeah, I don't think NASA expected the mission to still be operating in late November.
The only post I saw upthread is that in mid-August they thought they wouldn't be able to run SEIS for long periods after mid-September.
It seems like InSight has been in survival mode since the first week of October. InSight has previously survived at 275 watt-hours of power, in mid-October.
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#306
by
edzieba
on 01 Dec, 2022 09:43
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she's hanging in there
Back in the spring, I remember predictions that InSight would be inoperable by June. Does anybody remember seeing that stated by NASA? (I guess I should look up-thread.)
But yeah, I don't think NASA expected the mission to still be operating in late November.
From the Senior Review:
Unless something changes the mission is expected to reach a critical energy state (possibly safe mode entry) in June 2022, and degrade to inoperability, Dead Bus Recovery (DBR) mode, in December 2022.
And also relevant:
KEY FINDING/RECOMMENDATION: With the likely loss of InSight power there needs to be a communications strategy and plan for DBR in case InSight “phones home” in 2023. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is well versed in these techniques after experiencing the losses of Spirit and Opportunity in similar power-deprived modes.
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#307
by
Star One
on 05 Dec, 2022 20:07
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New paper published today from InSight data shows that Mars may still be more active than previously suspected.
Geophysical evidence for an active mantle plume underneath Elysium Planitia on MarsAbstract
Although the majority of volcanic and tectonic activity on Mars occurred during the first 1.5 billion years of its geologic history, recent volcanism, tectonism and active seismicity in Elysium Planitia reveal ongoing activity. However, this recent pulse in volcanism and tectonics is unexpected on a cooling Mars. Here we present observational evidence and geophysical models demonstrating that Elysium Planitia is underlain by an ~4,000-km-diameter active mantle plume head. Plume activity provides an explanation for the regional gravity and topography highs, recent volcanism, transition from compressional to extensional tectonics and ongoing seismicity. The inferred plume head characteristics are comparable to terrestrial plumes that are linked to the formation of large igneous provinces. Our results demonstrate that the interior of Mars is geodynamically active today, and imply that volcanism has been driven by mantle plumes from the formation of the Hesperian volcanic provinces and Tharsis in the past to Elysium Planitia today.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01836-3
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#308
by
Rondaz
on 06 Dec, 2022 23:10
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#309
by
Rondaz
on 13 Dec, 2022 10:15
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#310
by
Svetoslav
on 13 Dec, 2022 10:38
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It just refuses to die...
I won't be surprised if it functions in December 2023
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#311
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 19 Dec, 2022 21:08
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https://twitter.com/nasainsight/status/1604955574659035136My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me.
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#312
by
sdsds
on 20 Dec, 2022 04:53
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On Dec. 18, 2022, NASA’s InSight did not respond to communications from Earth. The lander’s power has been declining for months, as expected, and it’s assumed InSight may have reached its end of operations. It’s unknown what prompted the change in its energy; the last time the mission contacted the spacecraft was on Dec. 15, 2022.
The mission will continue to try and contact InSight.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/insight/2022/12/19/nasa-insight-dec-19-2022/
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#313
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 21 Dec, 2022 15:26
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https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1605599582934732800NASA has officially declared the InSight Mars mission over after the lander missed its second consecutive communications session. DSN will continue to listen for any signals from the lander, but such contact is considered “unlikely.”
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-retires-insight-mars-lander-mission-after-years-of-scienceDec 21, 2022
RELEASE 22-134
NASA Retires InSight Mars Lander Mission After Years of Science
NASA’s InSight mission has ended after more than four years of collecting unique science on Mars.
Mission controllers at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California were unable to contact the lander after two consecutive attempts, leading them to conclude the spacecraft’s solar-powered batteries have run out of energy – a state engineers refer to as “dead bus.”
NASA had previously decided to declare the mission over if the lander missed two communication attempts. The agency will continue to listen for a signal from the lander, just in case, but hearing from it at this point is considered unlikely. The last time InSight communicated with Earth was Dec. 15.
“I watched the launch and landing of this mission, and while saying goodbye to a spacecraft is always sad, the fascinating science InSight conducted is cause for celebration,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “The seismic data alone from this Discovery Program mission offers tremendous insights not just into Mars but other rocky bodies, including Earth.”
Short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, InSight set out to study the deep interior of Mars. The lander data has yielded details about Mars’ interior layers, the surprisingly strong remnants beneath the surface of its extinct magnetic dynamo, weather on this part of Mars, and lots of quake activity.
Its highly sensitive seismometer, along with daily monitoring performed by the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the Marsquake Service managed by ETH Zurich, detected 1,319 marsquakes, including quakes caused by meteoroid impacts, the largest of which unearthed boulder-size chunks of ice late last year.
Such impacts help scientists determine the age of the planet’s surface, and data from the seismometer provides scientists a way to study the planet’s crust, mantle, and core.
“With InSight, seismology was the focus of a mission beyond Earth for the first time since the Apollo missions, when astronauts brought seismometers to the Moon,” said Philippe Lognonné of Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, principal investigator of InSight’s seismometer. “We broke new ground, and our science team can be proud of all that we’ve learned along the way.”
The seismometer was the last science instrument that remained powered on as dust accumulating on the lander’s solar panels gradually reduced its energy, a process that began before NASA extended the mission earlier this year.
“InSight has more than lived up to its name. As a scientist who’s spent a career studying Mars, it’s been a thrill to see what the lander has achieved, thanks to an entire team of people across the globe who helped make this mission a success,” said Laurie Leshin, director of JPL, which manages the mission. “Yes, it’s sad to say goodbye, but InSight’s legacy will live on, informing and inspiring.”
All Mars missions face challenges, and InSight was no different. The lander featured a self-hammering spike – nicknamed “the mole” – that was intended to dig 16 feet (5 meters) down, trailing a sensor-laden tether that would measure heat within the planet, enabling scientists to calculate how much energy was left over from Mars’ formation.
Designed for the loose, sandy soil seen on other missions, the mole could not gain traction in the unexpectedly clumpy soil around InSight. The instrument, which was provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), eventually buried its 16-inch (40-centimeter) probe just slightly below the surface, collecting valuable data on the physical and thermal properties of the Martian soil along the way. This is useful for any future human or robotic missions that attempt to dig underground.
The mission buried the mole to the extent possible thanks to engineers at JPL and DLR using the lander’s robotic arm in inventive ways. Primarily intended to set science instruments on the Martian surface, the arm and its small scoop also helped remove dust from InSight’s solar panels as power began to diminish. Counterintuitively, the mission determined they could sprinkle dirt from the scoop onto the panels during windy days, allowing the falling granules to gently sweep dust off the panels.
“We’ve thought of InSight as our friend and colleague on Mars for the past four years, so it’s hard to say goodbye,” said Bruce Banerdt of JPL, the mission’s principal investigator. “But it has earned its richly deserved retirement.”
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.
Several European partners, including France’s CNES and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission. CNES provided the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument to NASA, with the principal investigator at IPGP (Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris). Significant contributions for SEIS came from IPGP; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany; the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland; Imperial College London and Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and JPL. DLR provided the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (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 temperature and wind sensors.
For more information about the mission, please go to:
https://www.nasa.gov/insight
-end-
Image caption:
An image of the final selfie taken by NASA's InSight Mars lander on April 24, 2022, the 1,211th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The lander is covered with far more dust than it was in its first selfie, taken in December 2018, not long after landing – or in its second selfie, composed of images taken in March and April 2019. Because InSight's dusty solar panels are producing less power, the team will soon put the lander's robotic arm in its resting position (called the "retirement pose") for the last time in May of 2022.
Credits: NASA
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#314
by
Dalhousie
on 23 Dec, 2022 01:22
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A very successful mission. Well done all.
However calling InSight "our friend and colleague on Mars" is a bit silly. It was neither. The friends and colleagues who worked on this mission are all back here.
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#315
by
alikim
on 23 Dec, 2022 03:34
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I know it's too late but would it make sense for solar panels to have the same vibrating device as the ground probe to shake the dust off?
Even sillier question: could you put the probe on the panel and turn it on to shake the dust?
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#316
by
Blackstar
on 23 Dec, 2022 11:56
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I know it's too late but would it make sense for solar panels to have the same vibrating device as the ground probe to shake the dust off?
Even sillier question: could you put the probe on the panel and turn it on to shake the dust?
This question gets asked again and again and was probably answered up-thread.
Quick answer: the way they deal with dust is they make the solar panels bigger. Mechanical devices can break, and they can break other things too--a vibrating device is bad if it causes the solar panels to fall off.
InSight lasted significantly beyond its design life. It was never going to last forever.
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#317
by
sanman
on 31 Dec, 2022 22:47
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I know it's too late but would it make sense for solar panels to have the same vibrating device as the ground probe to shake the dust off?
Even sillier question: could you put the probe on the panel and turn it on to shake the dust?
This question gets asked again and again and was probably answered up-thread.
Quick answer: the way they deal with dust is they make the solar panels bigger. Mechanical devices can break, and they can break other things too--a vibrating device is bad if it causes the solar panels to fall off.
InSight lasted significantly beyond its design life. It was never going to last forever.
Sorry to flog the dead horse, but I searched the thread and couldn't find any answer but yours.
So what if they break? All they have to do is survive long enough.
Besides, wipers are a well-known mature technology, and can be made sufficiently robust.
Maybe the real answer is mass-penalty? Not sure.
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#318
by
vjkane
on 31 Dec, 2022 23:38
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I know it's too late but would it make sense for solar panels to have the same vibrating device as the ground probe to shake the dust off?
Even sillier question: could you put the probe on the panel and turn it on to shake the dust?
This question gets asked again and again and was probably answered up-thread.
Quick answer: the way they deal with dust is they make the solar panels bigger. Mechanical devices can break, and they can break other things too--a vibrating device is bad if it causes the solar panels to fall off.
InSight lasted significantly beyond its design life. It was never going to last forever.
Sorry to flog the dead horse, but I searched the thread and couldn't find any answer but yours.
So what if they break? All they have to do is survive long enough.
Besides, wipers are a well-known mature technology, and can be made sufficiently robust.
Maybe the real answer is mass-penalty? Not sure.
What I've read several times is that when they look at the mass for a system to clean the solar cells that is durable and wouldn't risk the cells, just using the mass to add more cells comes out at the better answer.
An alternative solution is to put solar powered missions in location where dust devils are more likely. I read a summary of a paper that the location InSight was sent to was predicted to have lower levels of dust devils than many regions of Mars. (I believe that the area of the landing was selected based on flatness and lack of boulders followed by proximity to what were predicted to be areas with more than average Mars quakes. (I don't know if the paper came out before or after the selection of the landing sight.)
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#319
by
AS_501
on 31 Dec, 2022 23:39
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My friends and co-workers have come to me with a bunch of solutions for Insight: Small electric fan, soft brush on a robotic arm, arm-controlled vacuum cleaner, retract then re-deploy each array, tilt each array, etc. Have you noticed how the general public is quick to come up with solutions for space vehicle problems? They assume the engineers have not thought of their ideas. But I don't discourage them. Some of our older NSF'ers may remember the flood of ideas sent in to re-boost or deorbit Skylab
