InSight Cruise Phase, Events during Mars transit prior to EDL Options

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Hey again, everyone. This thread will be for discussion of anything that happens between now & landing day, currently 26 Nov US Pacific time (UTC-8 hrs during that part of the year).

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For the Google Mars community, here is a KMZ file with InSight's landing ellipse.

Unfortunately, Google Mars does not have any CTX registered for this area, so I suggest going to GE's left panel and in the Layers section, select under Global Maps the Daytime Infrared. This is the base map appearing, for instance, in landing ellipse image contained in the press kit.

To install the file, download it to your favorite location and double click it. This should startup Google Earth, if not already opened, and initiate a switch to Google Mars (a pop-up will display). The globe should automatically rotate and position itself over the ellipse area. Acknowledgements, credits, and a short explanation are available on the file's help panel. To get to the panel select the file's name on GE's Places panel.

The ellipse is approximated by a 180-sided polygon. I'd welcome information on any errors that may exist.
Fernando
 InSight.kmz ( 4.74K ) Number of downloads: 244

[Guest_mcmcmc_*]

For the Google Mars community

Damn!
If just you'd remebered me before about existence of Google Earth, I could have set up something better than this....
I totally forgot that I can create animations in google earth!
This is the Phoenix EDL:
http://win98.altervista.org/space/explorat...Phoenix-EDL.kmz

It's even possibile to make the marker shape change depending on altitude, and shift whole trajectory to Insight site (just for fun, it's a simulator)... but I think it would require more time than remaining time to the event. :-(

In case anybody has time/wish to help, this is the source code which converts EDL data into KML format:
http://win98.altervista.org/space/explorat...t/crea-EDL.html

Data are here:
http://win98.altervista.org/space/explorat...ht/js/coords.js

Taken as usual from PHXPROFILES.TAB .

This line gets one sample every 200 to make things faster; change "200" to "1" for a realtime animation:

CODE

    for (index = 0; index <= latLonAlt.length-1; index += 200) {

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Damn!
If just you'd remebered me before about existence of Google Earth, I could have set up something better than this....
I totally forgot that I can create animations in google earth!

Here it is, quick and dirty, using Phoenix's EDL data (rotated and re-centered). You have to play with the slider controls to see the full path. Maybe I'll polish it latter but right now it is way past my shuteye time. Cheers

Fernando

 InSight_EDL_Sim.kmz ( 11.12K ) Number of downloads: 300

[Guest_mcmcmc_*]

Here it is, quick and dirty, using Phoenix's EDL data (rotated and re-centered). You have to play with the slider controls to see the full path. Maybe I'll polish it latter but right now it is way past my shuteye time. Cheers

Fernando

 InSight_EDL_Sim.kmz ( 11.12K ) Number of downloads: 300

Cool.
We should also find a method to:
- make a real time video (Google Earth settings do not allow a speed lower than "10 seconds per second")
- make markers representing different phases of the landing (I have the images, I have tocleanup them and see if I can make their background transparent)
- add camera orientation to each point to create kind of a movie centered on lander

In the meantime, I have to finish the other simulator.

All in around 55h.

It doesn't actually matter. The s/c will be swinging backwards and forwards under the parachute. It's 'angle of attack' isn't really a thing any more. The s/c uses the IMU at this point to interpret RADAR data, but the actual angle really doesn't matter.

The point is: if you are going to land on Mars (not "generic you", but you nprev or djellison), wouldn't you like to know in advance how your spaceship/spacecraft/aircraft/whatelse will be oriented during final descent? I would. All this EDLs have to be (also) interpreted as test for future manned landings, but we currently don't know anything about lander attitude between parachute deployment and landing.
Additionally, an error in merging and crossprocessing radar data and IMU data by GNC caused fatal failure of Exomars 2016, so design needs a little improvement for this phase, IMHO.