Expecting Great Insights from InSight
Yesterday’s landing of the InSight mission on Mars was another step toward the eventual extended human exploration of the Red Planet. Sure, this lander is supposed to be sussing out the interior of the Red Planet, and that will provide major insights into how Mars is structured. But, InSight is part of the larger exploration theme of the planet that some people will someday call home.
As it unfolded its solar panels late in the afternoon and got a first good charge for the power supply, InSight sent back some great images of Mars. By now, the scene is familiar: rocky red plains with a faint pink sky. No life that we can see. Absolutely no standing water. Few clouds. Just the endless horizons of a planet that we’ve been exploring since the 1960s.
Insight’s Mission
So, what’s InSight going to do? The spacecraft is now being fully vetted for its extended mission. That will take a couple of months, which lets the science team will figure out where and when to deploy its instruments. Those include a little “mole” that will dig deep into the surface to monitor seismic actions. In the meantime, it is equipped with a robot arm and cameras so that InSight can continue the tradition of taking great images of the Red Planet. The spacecraft is already beginning to monitor the weather at its landing site in Elysium Planitia.
Who Did This?
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the huge team of scientists and technical staff who have made this mission possible. It spans the globe. Experts ranging from partners in France and Germany to scientists in Switzerland are involved. So are instrument buildings and planetary scientists from England, and instrument experts from Poland, and Spain. Of course, NASA is involved, particularly through JPL in Pasadena, CA. There are also scientists in Denver and across the country working on this mission.
Exploration is not a heroic, single-human endeavor anymore when it comes to space and planetary science. It takes a village — heck, it takes a world-wide effort! These people should be very proud of their accomplishments, and the advances in knowledge to come from the mission. This is what science is all about: seeking to answer questions and getting the data to do just that.