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 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.
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“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 rising 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.
“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,” said InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman from JPL. “The next picture we plan to take with this camera will be of the surface of Mars,” he said. If all goes as planned, the camera will take the first image of Elysium Planitia minutes after InSight touches down on Mars.
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