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NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s “mole” on Mars has failed. After nearly two years of attempting to dig the InSight lander’s heat probe – nicknamed the mole – into the Red Planet’s surface, engineers have finally given up.
The InSight lander arrived on Mars in November 2018. Its main purpose is to study the planet’s deep interior in order to help us understand the history of the solar system’s rocky worlds. The lander has three main instruments to help it do that: a seismometer to catch vibrations travelling through the ground, a radio to precisely measure Mars’s rotation and learn more about its metal core and a setup called the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill
A pair of ongoing NASA missions the Juno spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter and the InSight lander on Mars have been extended following an external review.
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An independent review panel said both Juno and InSight have “produced exceptional science,” and that both missions should be allowed to continue, according to a NASA statement.
“The Senior Review has validated that these two planetary science missions are likely to continue to bring new discoveries, and produce new questions about our solar system,” Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division, said in the statement.
NASA Extends Exploration for Two Planetary Science Missions
InSight on Mars (Illustration): This illustration shows NASA s InSight spacecraft with its instruments deployed on the Martian surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Full image and caption ›
The missions – Juno and InSight – have each increased our understanding of our solar system, as well as spurred new sets of diverse questions.
As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the Moon and on to Mars, the agency’s quest to seek answers about our solar system and beyond continues to inform those efforts and generate new discoveries. The agency has extended the missions of two spacecraft, following an external review of their scientific productivity.
of the planet and what it s all what makes it up. and so that s what insight is all about. there s actually a heat probe that s going to dig 16 feet into the planet, which is deeper than any other lander has ever gone before. usually, these landers only go to about an inch below the surface. and so, they hope to learn about how much heat is escaping from the planet. and that will give us insight into what the core is actually made of. so it s really to get at the evolution of the planet, what the planet is comprised of, to have us learn a little bit about the evolution of these rocky planets like our own, earth. so on that, don, back over to you. this thing, i want you to continue explaining how this thing actually, let s listen in just for a second. on this heat shield. very, very hot. but on the inside of the heat shield, it may be only a fraction a few degrees above room temperature. so it s a wonderful protector device to keep our lander safe. all right.