At approximately 1:30 am IST, the robotic lander In Sight was scheduled to descend on Mars following a six-month journey covering 548 million kilometers through deep space.
NASA's most recent Mars vehicle approaches touchdown for an unparalleled seismic expedition.
KEYSIGHTS
At 19,310 km/h, In Sight will blast through the thin Martian atmosphere.
For 24 months, or roughly one Martian year, In Sight will
It will investigate the formation of Mars, the beginnings of Earth, and other rocky planets.
NASA's first spacecraft designed to investigate the deep innards of another planet raced toward its scheduled Monday touchdown on a vast, desolate plain on Mars, equipped with instruments designed to identify seismic rumblings and planetary heat that have never been detected outside of Earth.
About eight o'clock in the evening GMT, the robotic lander InSight was scheduled to arrive on the dusty, rock-strewn surface of the Red Planet, following a six-month journey across deep space covering 301 million miles (548 million kilometers).
If everything goes as planned, InSight will accelerate to 12,000 miles per hour (19,310 kilometers per hour) as it blasts through the uppermost layer of the tenuous Martian atmosphere. Friction, the use of a massive parachute, and retro rockets will slow InSight down so that in 6 1/2 minutes it will plummet 77 miles through pink Martian skies to the surface, reaching a speed of only 5 mph (8 kph).
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The stationary probe, which was launched from California in May, will then wait 16 minutes for the dust to really settle around its landing location before its solar panels, which resemble discs, unfold to power the spacecraft. Data broadcast by two small satellites that were launched with InSight and will be passing Mars should provide the mission control team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) near Los Angeles with real-time confirmation of the craft's arrival.
Additionally, a picture of the probe's new surroundings on the smooth, level Martian plain known as the Elysium Planitina, which is near the planet's equator, is anticipated by the JPL managers.About 373 miles (600 km) separate the location from the landing site of the Beginning with the Mariner fly-bys in the 1960s, the smaller, 880-pound (360 kg) InSight mission is the 21st US-launched mission to Mars. Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport is the acronym for the mission's name. previous countries have sent nearly two dozen previous Mars missions.
See also: The enigma surrounding Mars' moon Deciphering Phobos's distinctive grooves
Using seismic monitoring and readings of the subsurface temperature, InSight will use 24 months, or roughly one Martian year, to try to solve puzzles regarding the formation of Mars and, consequently, the genesis of Earth and other rocky planets in the inner solar system.
Most evidence of Earth's early past has been destroyed by tectonics and other causes, while a large portion of Mars—roughly one-third the size of Earth—is thought to have survived.
The main tool used by In Sight is a seismometer made in France that can detect even the smallest tremors caused by meteor impacts and "mar squakes" that occur all across the world. The lander's robot arm will deploy the instrument on the surface. It is so sensitive that it can detect seismic waves with a radius of only half an atom of hydrogen.
Throughout the mission, scientists anticipate seeing between 12 to 100 earthquakes, which will provide data that will enable them to determine the composition, depth, and density of the planet's rocky mantle, outermost layer, and core.
Seismometers were also included in the mid-1970s NASA Viking probes, although their placement on top of the landers proved to be a mostly unsuccessful design.
Seismometers were also brought to the lunar surface by the Apollo missions. However, the first significant information on planetary seismic tremors beyond Earth is anticipated to be produced by In Sight.
Additionally, In Sight is equipped with a German-made drill that can descend up to 16 feet (5 meters) into the earth, dragging a thermal probe that resembles a rope behind it to measure the amount of heat emitted from the planet.
NASA image result for space photos
In the meantime, signals tracking Mars' slight rotational wobble will be relayed by a radio transmitter, providing insight into the planet's core's size and potential molten state. The main instruments will take two to three months to deploy and come online, according to NASA officials.
