InSight Surface Operations, 26 Nov 2018- Options

[Antdoghalo]

RIP Mole! We cheered for your success through 759 sols but alast, the dirt didn't cooperate!
Don't think we have time to change Rosalind Franklin to include a mole but maybe we can piggyback the experiment onto whatever is going to the 2024 opportunity.

[nprev]

Always disappointing when a new technique or technology doesn't really pan out, but it's a certainty that a great deal was learned regardless. This is in fact largely how we learn over time.

Kudos and great appreciation to the team for their valiant, tireless efforts. Thank you.

[PaulH51]

The InSight PDS was updated earlier this month. I went through the mission managers reports (MMR) from that update and extracted the reported energy production capability ('Whr/sol') and the atmospheric tau values and added the new data to a table with a selection of selected earlier values.
We can see the falling energy production caused by accumulated dust on the solar arrays and the increasing atmospheric tau.
The MMR's contain an interesting insight into the activities of the the team as they juggled with problems, the energy demand vs energy production etc. It would have been nice to see more extracts released to the public rather than having to wait for the PDS, but it is what it is.

[HSchirmer]

...I like the idea of multiple penetrators dropping from one entry vehicle, using momentum to enter the soil, and enough safety in numbers that one or more failures still lets us get one success.
This seems like something that could ride along with some future stationary lander, regardless of the lander's other functions.
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc1996/pdf/1452.pdf

The brains of existing Textron BLU-108 cluster bomb "skeet" submunitions detect 2 color infra-red signatures , scan with lidar then steer themselves to likely targets. Reprogram them to aim for the wavelengths of hydrated minerals, do their lidar scan and upload a high resolution DEM model to the rover.
One "skeet" weights 7.5 pounds and samples about 16 acres. The 4 pack dispenser weights 64 pounds and covers around 64 acres.
Another recent advance are electronics that survive being fired out of 155mm howitzer and allow computer controlled artillery shells so a "lawn dart" penetrator could be an option.
http://midkiff.cz/obj/firma_produkt_priloha_120_soubor.pdf