InSight Surface Operations, 26 Nov 2018- 21 Dec 2022 |
InSight Surface Operations, 26 Nov 2018- 21 Dec 2022 |
Nov 26 2018, 08:20 PM
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#1
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Congratulations to the InSight team on a successful landing! We'll discuss the remainder of the mission here.
-------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
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Nov 27 2018, 03:40 PM
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#2
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Member Group: Members Posts: 214 Joined: 30-December 05 Member No.: 628 |
In the early stages of the mission, can InSight's seismometer be used in concert with the hammer that is to drive the thermal mole into the ground, as a sort of sonar device to help locate buried rocks and maybe identify the best path to get the mole all the way to its desired 5 meter depth?
Sorry- this belongs in the surface operations thread, which is where I intended to put it. I guess I can't move it now without some assistance from admin... Moved. -Admin. |
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Nov 27 2018, 04:45 PM
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#3
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Forum Contributor Group: Members Posts: 1374 Joined: 8-February 04 From: North East Florida, USA. Member No.: 11 |
In the early stages of the mission, can InSight's seismometer be used in concert with the hammer that is to drive the thermal mole into the ground, as a sort of sonar device to help locate buried rocks and maybe identify the best path to get the mole all the way to its desired 5 meter depth? Moved. -Admin. There was no mention of that. The PI did say small rocks would be pushed aside by the Mole, but if it hit a big flat rock then that was as far as they could go, it won't go upwards. It's all about risk. |
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Nov 30 2018, 11:31 AM
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#4
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 9 Joined: 27-February 12 Member No.: 6346 |
The PI did say small rocks would be pushed aside by the Mole, but if it hit a big flat rock then that was as far as they could go, it won't go upwards. It's all about risk. In that context, I found this publication helpful (https://elib.dlr.de/121308/1/Spohn_et_al-20...nce_Reviews.pdf). I also wondered how well the mole would cope with any buried rocks. They say: QUOTE If the Mole encounters a rock larger than a few 10s of cm as it moves forward, it could be blocked from further advancement. The likelihood of such an encounter between the surface and the required (3 m) or target (5 m) depths has been calculated to be 43% and 59%, respectively. This estimate uses the most pessimistic models, [...] QUOTE If less conservative assumptions are made about surface rock abundance (e.g., 2.5% or less) and demonstrated capabilities of the Mole are allowed for (e.g., the Mole can push rocks up to 15 cm out of its way within the regolith, and can also deflect around rocks encountered at angles ≤45 degrees), the probability of success increases to 98% and 90%, respectively.
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Nov 30 2018, 05:21 PM
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#5
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Member Group: Members Posts: 684 Joined: 24-July 15 Member No.: 7619 |
QUOTE If the Mole encounters a rock larger than a few 10s of cm as it moves forward, it could be blocked from further advancement. The likelihood of such an encounter between the surface and the required (3 m) or target (5 m) depths has been calculated to be 43% and 59%, respectively. This estimate uses the most pessimistic models, ... You know, after reading that, deploying the seismometer first and then moving the probe around as a "thumper" to create a 3d map of the underground location of the big rocks you need to avoid, isn't such a crazy idea after all... |
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Nov 30 2018, 08:03 PM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 866 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Santa Cruz, CA Member No.: 196 |
You know, after reading that, deploying the seismometer first and then moving the probe around as a "thumper" to create a 3d map of the underground location of the big rocks you need to avoid, isn't such a crazy idea after all... I was actually wondering if the system was designed to be able to "reel-in" the mole by its scientific tether to try a different location in case it were to meet criteria for mission failure by hitting an unmovable rock at too shallow a depth, but cant seem to find any mention of that, and seems highly risky anyways.. but on the other hand, such seismic imaging should also be possible by tapping the ground at strategic points with the deployment arm's bucket, or perhaps most safely by simply dropping scoops of regolith, no? |
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