InSight mission |
InSight mission |
Jan 9 2012, 07:40 PM
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#16
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Director of Galilean Photography Group: Members Posts: 896 Joined: 15-July 04 From: Austin, TX Member No.: 93 |
I think they're some work you can do with direct vs reflected signals to determine distance and range. Also, P and S waves travel at different velocities, assuming their seismograph is sensitive enough, they could roughly determine distance that way. This would, however, not let them determine depth of the hypocenter, unless there's some other aspect they can model.
It really is a shame this will probably be a one-off. Too bad a pair of DS2 seismographs couldn't be dropped off the deck as is falls, even if they land just a few km away they could help with triangulation. #include <doug_rant_on_tradeoffs.h> -------------------- Space Enthusiast Richard Hendricks
-- "The engineers, as usual, made a tremendous fuss. Again as usual, they did the job in half the time they had dismissed as being absolutely impossible." --Rescue Party, Arthur C Clarke Mother Nature is the final inspector of all quality. |
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Jan 9 2012, 08:50 PM
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#17
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Senior Member Group: Admin Posts: 4763 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Glendale, AZ Member No.: 197 |
Without location, you don't really have magnitude, do you? Actually you do. Because earthquakes generate three distinct types of waves that travel at different rates a lone seismometer can be used to calculate absolute distance to the focus (or center) of the event and magnitude as well. The only problem is direction. However if you have TWO sufficiently sensitive devices you can calculate the location by first identifying the two intersecting nodes, and then using secondary reflected events to isolate one of the two nodes as the event location. In fact the Viking landers had seismometers for this very purpose, however one of them malfunctioned (forget which right now). -------------------- If Occam had heard my theory, things would be very different now.
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Jan 9 2012, 09:25 PM
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#18
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Member Group: Members Posts: 252 Joined: 5-May 05 From: Mississippi (USA) Member No.: 379 |
Warning I am not a geologist.
My impression, when I read a short explanation of the mission, was that they were only trying to measure the planets seismic energy. You don't need direction and maybe not even distance for that. Mars doesn't have plate tectonics, as far as I have heard, and I guess the level of seismic energy will say something about the planets core. Jack |
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Jan 10 2012, 02:44 AM
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#19
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Member Group: Members Posts: 316 Joined: 1-October 06 Member No.: 1206 |
QUOTE Too bad a pair of DS2 seismographs couldn't be dropped off the deck as is falls Exactly what I was thinking! Its too bad that penetrator technology seems to have gone nowhere since then, and Im not just talking about for Mars. Still, here we all are musing about bolting stuff onto a Discovery class proposal, stuff that wouldnt make it a Discovery class proposal any more. That cap is why I love TiME so much, assuming they CAN actually fly the thing under the cap... P |
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Jan 10 2012, 03:34 PM
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#20
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Member Group: Members Posts: 206 Joined: 15-August 07 From: Shrewsbury, Shropshire Member No.: 3233 |
I assume that there is a mission assumption is that the solar panels will continue to suppy power for much more than 90 days. I understand that the Pathfinder lander only lasted 90 days because of a complete lack of cleaning winds. The question that I want to ask is how common are cleaning winds on Mars? Perhaps the only safe landing site for the InSight mission is the Opportunity landing elipse? At least there cleaning winds are guaranteed.
I also wonder how much of its potential payload mass this mission is using? Would it really cost anything for the odd Phoenix instrument to be reflown? I would like to see Lidar reflown to a landing site where it could operate for longer than a very limited 150 days. Obviously the most important missing instrument is a camera to scan the horizon. Would a pair of black and white Navcams cost much to fly? I guess that Navcams are two a penny given the number of spare Navcams that are flying on MSL. |
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Jan 10 2012, 03:42 PM
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#21
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Member Group: Members Posts: 293 Joined: 29-August 06 From: Columbia, MD Member No.: 1083 |
I'm guessing the mission is more cost-limited than mass-limited. To fit the Discovery cost cap, they can't fly any more instruments. Even if an instrument was donated by a foreign agency or NASA wanted to fly a camera for purely PR purposes, there are mission financial costs associated with that that could be counted against InSight's cost cap.
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Jan 10 2012, 03:42 PM
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#22
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
. I understand that the Pathfinder lander only lasted 90 days because of a complete lack of cleaning winds. No- the battery died. It was a silver-zinc battery, and couldn't withstand the manifold charging cycles that more recent technologies can. Estimate were between 30 and 100 recharges would be the end of it. It lasted 83 sols (not 90) Thereafter, the lander couldn't keep itself warm at night, and presumed failures of other components quickly followed. The Level 1 requirement was a month. |
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Mar 23 2012, 01:06 PM
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#23
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10229 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
A few new details about the mission, from Bruce Banerdt at LPSC.
The spacecraft carries a MER hazcam (maybe 2) fixed on the body to give an overview of the instrument deployment area, and a MER navcam (or a pair, more likely) on the arm elbow area for detailed instrument deployment coverage. After instrument deployment, but during the first 60 days, they will use the navcam(s) to do a full panorama and other things like change detection (which might include clouds, dust devils etc.) . Then they go to reduced operations for the rest of the mission, only monitoring the instruments. Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PDF: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Mar 28 2012, 11:03 AM
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#24
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1089 Joined: 19-February 05 From: Close to Meudon Observatory in France Member No.: 172 |
I understand that the Pathfinder lander only lasted 90 days because of a complete lack of cleaning winds. Well. No : mainly because of a main battery failure which changed the time set on the onboard clock... No more energy storage + no more onboard time = no more tasks doable in a proper order = end of telecoms = end of mission ! |
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Aug 20 2012, 07:01 PM
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#25
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 50 Joined: 14-January 07 From: France Member No.: 1602 |
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Aug 20 2012, 07:18 PM
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#26
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1452 Joined: 26-July 08 Member No.: 4270 |
Awesome! Mars! I can't remember the last time we landed there!
-------------------- -- Hungry4info (Sirius_Alpha)
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Aug 20 2012, 07:55 PM
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#27
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Solar System Cartographer Group: Members Posts: 10229 Joined: 5-April 05 From: Canada Member No.: 227 |
Good one, Hungry! I would have liked any of them but I'm especially interested in this one.
Phil -------------------- ... because the Solar System ain't gonna map itself.
Also to be found posting similar content on https://mastodon.social/@PhilStooke Maps for download (free PDF: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...Cartography.pdf NOTE: everything created by me which I post on UMSF is considered to be in the public domain (NOT CC, public domain) |
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Aug 20 2012, 08:41 PM
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#28
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
press release New NASA Mission to Take First Look Deep Inside Mars
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Aug 20 2012, 09:24 PM
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#29
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
interesting... the German heat probe "mole" will be based on Beagle 2's PLUTO mole
http://www.dlr.de/irs/en/desktopdefault.as...970_read-25032/ |
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Aug 20 2012, 09:26 PM
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#30
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
That's cool - PLUTO was an awesome and cunning little piece of kit.
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