next Monday, in order to accurately 20.53 PM Central European time it should be ready. Should, as I said. Because if everything will go smoothly, nobody can say. Finally, only around 40 percent of all research probes that people have ever sent to Mars, also good there. Europeans and Russians, for example, have to learn two years ago, as the landing was your “Schiaparelli”-a land robot in a spectacular fail.
But if this time everything works as planned, should now be put on the Nasa probe, “Insight” on the Red planet. After a nearly seven minutes long and furious Ride through the Martian atmosphere to come then in the region of Elysium Planitia close to the Martian Equator, the geological secrets in the Interior of the planet on the track.
“Insight” has no wheels, but a French-led developed a Seismometer on Board, the of Mars quakes, and Meteorite impacts resulting shock waves when they are running through the planet. In addition, the probe should itself arrange for vibrations and the deepest fabricate with human-made technology, in another celestial body-generated hole.
“Mars-a-mole” to call the researchers jokingly in Germany, devised and constructed apparatus called the “HP3”. Up to five meters deep is hammering the device into the soil to measure temperature and thermal conductivity of the substrate material. The third measuring unit of the “Insight” in addition to record the fluctuations of the polar axis of the planet.
In the Interview, Nasa reveals-science Director Thomas Zurbuchen, which findings you expect from the Mission and why the little research robot is in need of no wheels.
To the Person Aubrey Gemignani / NASA Thomas Zurbuchen , Born in 1968, is the science Director of the US space Agency Nasa. The astrophysicist has worked after his PhD at the University of Bern at the University of Michigan. He has Swiss and American citizenship.
MIRROR ONLINE: Nasa has already explored with numerous robot cars as “Fuel”, “Opportunity” or “Curiosity” to Mars. Now you can send a probe without the wheels. Why?
Zurbuchen: With “Insight” we want to understand the Geology of Mars. It comes first, not necessarily where you do it. You just need to have good contact with the ground, so that the measurement instruments will deliver good results. And secondly, there is nothing to win, if you drive around. The results do not differ. We don’t need to, that’s why we do it.
MIRROR ONLINE: you have selected a geologically rather boring place on Mars. The images of the landing zone show a table flat area without any formations.
Zurbuchen: We want to land somewhere, where it looks like a Parking lot. As flat as possible it should be in the vicinity of the Equator. There is enough solar energy to power all the instruments. In addition, our instruments can not measure the vibrations in the Interior of Mars much better if we are somewhere in the rubble. This time, the landscape should be as simple as possible.
MIRROR ONLINE: So exactly the other way around as in the case of other missions.
Zurbuchen: Yes, otherwise we are interested, for example, for the former river deltas. Or areas where there were once lakes. Or for the crater: we don’t need everything this Time.
you might Mini, also NASA/JPL-Caltech “Mars Cube One is interested in”:-satellite to the Mars landing watch
MIRROR ONLINE: What knowledge do you hope to achieve because of the Mission?
Zurbuchen: , We want to understand the Interior of the planet better. Mars, like mercury, Venus, and earth is a rocky planet. But the Geology of Mars and the earth is still different. On earth, we have continental plates, volcanoes, earthquakes, which will give us about the Interior of the planet information. On Mars there is no continental plates, but volcanoes. Whose activities we want to demonstrate now, for the first Time. At the same time, we want to understand the internal structure of Mars by analyzing shock waves running through the planet.
MIRROR ONLINE: In the search for past or present life will not help the probe.
Zurbuchen: , only indirectly. But if you understand the geological history of Mars, its activity, then we can discuss the question of the origin of life better.
MIRROR ONLINE: To “Insight” should there be in the year 2020, one American and one European-Russian Mission with robot cars. Both sides negotiate about, to get a probe Material from Mars to earth. How far are you in there?
Zurbuchen: We speak in the Moment with our respective politicians about the money. The end of the coming year, no later than the beginning of 2020, we will know what we can do.
MIRROR ONLINE: And when would we have then, in fact, Material from Mars here on earth?
Zurbuchen: at the end of the twenties and early thirties, I’d guess.
MIRROR ONLINE: Why is actually a probe on the probe sent to Mars? Would not be long once the Venus?
Zurbuchen: The international Community is speaking probes a lot about Venus. In Europe, there is a competition for future missions, where a flight to Venus is among the finalists. Because it would involve America. The Indians have recently made a Venus Mission. And we at Nasa are discussing with the Russians, whether we fly to Venus. Within the next ten years, which is sure to happen, probably even with more than one Mission.
