1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: stuff works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,640 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: House to Parks and I heart radio and I love 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: all things tech. And On November two, eighteen, after traveling 6 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 1: four hundred fifty eight million kilometers or three hundred million 7 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: miles on a trip that lasted nearly seven months, the 8 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: robot platform Insight touched down on the surface of Mars. 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: They marked the eighth time the United States has managed 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,880 Speaker 1: to land a mission on Mars successfully. So we're gonna 11 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: take a look at this lander, what it does, and 12 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: what it's mission parameters are. Before I get into Insights specifically, 13 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: it's a good time to chat about the logistics of 14 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: just getting to Mars in general. You may have heard 15 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: that if we were to send people to Mars, they 16 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 1: need to stay there for about two years before they 17 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: could return. So why is that, Well, it's because of 18 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: the respective orbits of Earth and Mars. Mars is further 19 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: out from the Sun than the Earth is, and a 20 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:16,200 Speaker 1: Martian year lasts six hundred eighty seven Earth days or 21 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: six hundred sixty nine souls or Martian days compared to 22 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: an Earth year, which has of course three hundred sixty 23 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,920 Speaker 1: five days, unless it's a leap year. So there are 24 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: times when Earth and Mars are relatively close, and by 25 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: relatively I mean nearly thirty five million miles or fifty 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,759 Speaker 1: six million kilometers apart, and there are other times when 27 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: they are opposite each other with the Sun in the center, 28 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:41,640 Speaker 1: they're bout as far apart as they possibly can be. 29 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: Space travel is expensive and it requires a lot of fuel. 30 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 1: Fuel ways a lot, and the heavier year spacecraft gets, 31 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: the more fuel you need, so you end up in 32 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: this sort of cycle up to a point where you 33 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:58,200 Speaker 1: have to keep adding fuel to lift not just the 34 00:01:58,200 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: spacecraft but the fuel you are already have in it. 35 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: So that means you get to be super careful with 36 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: how heavy your spacecraft is so that you can be 37 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: very efficient with the amount of fuel you're going to 38 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,400 Speaker 1: need to get to your destination. So that includes playing 39 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: your trips so that you travel the shortest possible distance 40 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: between two points, taking the least amount of time to 41 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: get from point A to point B. So you want 42 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: to set a launch date in advance of a time 43 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: when Earth and Mars are going to be relatively close 44 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: to each other. That's the launch window we want to 45 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: look at. But of course Mars is moving the whole 46 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 1: time as his Earth. So really you're setting a launch 47 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: window to aim at the point in space where Mars 48 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: is going to be in several months after the launch. 49 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: It's actually pretty complicated stuff. I mean, they do call 50 00:02:46,600 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: it rocket science. Even when you take advantage of orbital paths, 51 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: you're still talking about a trip that will take between 52 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 1: six and eight months using conventional rockets, So you have 53 00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: to settle in for a long trip. Now, once you 54 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 1: get to Mars, you won't be able to leave right 55 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: away if you have a method of leaving in the 56 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: first place, you would have to wait around for Earth 57 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:08,600 Speaker 1: and Mars to be nearing one another again. And a 58 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: launch window for the minimal amount of energy needed to 59 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,080 Speaker 1: get between the two comes around only every two Earth 60 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: years and two Earth months, So you need enough fuel 61 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:20,959 Speaker 1: to make the trip home, or you need some way 62 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,600 Speaker 1: to make the fuel at your destination, such as Mars, 63 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: so that you can make the return trip. Now, you 64 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:30,480 Speaker 1: could make going to Mars a one way trip, and 65 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: considering how hostile the planet is and how hard it 66 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:38,040 Speaker 1: would be to get back. That's probably not entirely unrealistic, 67 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: if I'm being honest. We'll talk more about that in 68 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: our next episode, but before we decide to shove someone 69 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,000 Speaker 1: off into space for a life sentence on Mars, we 70 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: can send other craft to the red planet, and in 71 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: fact we have that includes orbiters, which, as the name suggests, 72 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: orbits the planet and gathers information about it. Landers, which 73 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 1: has the name suggests, lands on the planet and gathers 74 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: information about it. And rovers, which, again the name tells 75 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: you everything you need to know. It roves about on 76 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:16,680 Speaker 1: the planet, gathering information and you know, doing sick donuts, 77 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: and the name is pretty much tell you everything you 78 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: need to know about them, at least in a general sense. 79 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,080 Speaker 1: So landing on Mars, particularly if you want to do 80 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,760 Speaker 1: a soft landing, is pretty challenging as well. That's because 81 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: of several factors. One is that the Martian atmosphere is 82 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: much thinner than Earth's, so stuff like parachutes are less effective. 83 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: They do work, but they don't slow down to scent 84 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: quite as effectively as they would if you were using 85 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: them on Earth. However, the atmosphere is thick enough to 86 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,760 Speaker 1: cause heating problems. Upon entry of the atmosphere, the spacecraft 87 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: starts to come in at a very high speed, it 88 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: hits the atmosphere, starts to compress the atmosphere in front 89 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: of it, and it begins to heat up rapidly. So 90 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,040 Speaker 1: whatever your spacecraft is, you need some really good heat 91 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: shielding to take care of that problem. That of course 92 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: adds to the weight of the spacecraft. And while gravity 93 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: on Mars is less intense than on Earth, the gravity 94 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: on Mars is about point three eight times out of 95 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: Earth's gravity. Descending from Martian orbit still means you're going 96 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,239 Speaker 1: at a speed that's plenty fast enough to cause serious 97 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: damage when you hit the ground, So you have to 98 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: have a way to slow your descent. One way to 99 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 1: offset that incredibly fast descent is to have special retro 100 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:37,040 Speaker 1: rockets on the landing craft and to fire those before 101 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: you land so that you have a nice and gentle touchdown. 102 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:44,880 Speaker 1: That really would help slow the descent. But here's the 103 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,520 Speaker 1: thing with these craft that we're sending the landers and 104 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: the rovers. For the ones that we're using for a 105 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: soft landing, they have to rely upon a fully automated system. 106 00:05:54,200 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: Because the distance between Mars and Earth is such that 107 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: it takes several minutes for radio signals to pass back 108 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: and forth between the two. Radio signals move at the 109 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: speed of light, but the distances involved are so great 110 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: that even light requires a few minutes to get the 111 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: job done. So if you were looking at a video 112 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,039 Speaker 1: feed from the spacecraft, let's say that there's a live 113 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,960 Speaker 1: camera feed and it's able to send video back to Earth. 114 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 1: This would be unrealistic, But let's say it's happening. What 115 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,280 Speaker 1: you would actually be looking at would be video from 116 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: several minutes ago. The video footage would be several minutes old, 117 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:32,479 Speaker 1: because that's how long it took for the information to 118 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: travel from the the lander or rover on Mars to 119 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 1: get to you on Earth. Sending a message to the 120 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: lander would obviously take more time. So let's say you 121 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: see a picture and you think, oh, well, that's that 122 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: rock over there is interesting. I want this thing to 123 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: go grab that rock, and you send a command to 124 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 1: the device. Well, keep in mind the picture you're looking 125 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:58,359 Speaker 1: at it several minutes old. When you send the message, 126 00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: it takes several more minutes for it to get back. 127 00:07:00,880 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: The device then has to react to it, and it 128 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: will take even more minutes for you to know that 129 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:11,280 Speaker 1: anything actually happened, so there's no way to make any 130 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: adjustments in real time at all. So that's why the 131 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: system has to be fully automated. When it's landing, there's 132 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: no way to step in and take control of it 133 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: as a remote pilot, because the distances are so great 134 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: that by the time you're sending commands, the thing you're 135 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: trying to command has already crashed into Mars. So you 136 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: have to create this automated system. The landing process for 137 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: this lander would take about six and a half minutes 138 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: from the point it enters the Martian atmosphere to the 139 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: point that it landed on the surface. NASA would call 140 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: this the seven minutes of Terror. That six and a 141 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,880 Speaker 1: half minutes would include every single thing that would have 142 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 1: to happen in this process of entering the atmosphere all 143 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: the way to the point of firing the retro gets 144 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,400 Speaker 1: at settling down on the surface of Mars. If anything 145 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: were to go wrong at any stage there, whether it 146 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,840 Speaker 1: maybe it's a parachute that fails to deploy, a thruster 147 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: that fires a second too late, whatever it would be, 148 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: all would be lost. Chances are you would have a 149 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: total loss of the spacecraft. In addition, that distance between 150 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: Earth and Mars would mean we wouldn't even know that 151 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 1: something had gone wrong until about eight minutes after it 152 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: had gone wrong, So if the lander were to crash 153 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: and be destroyed, it would have been destroyed for eight 154 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 1: minutes before we knew about it. Also, it meant that 155 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 1: picking a landing site is incredibly important. You want to 156 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:45,240 Speaker 1: find the best possible site to target so that your 157 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 1: lander or rover, whatever it may be, has the best 158 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,440 Speaker 1: possible chance of survival. NASA had to find a spot 159 00:08:52,480 --> 00:08:55,040 Speaker 1: that not only would be optimal for whatever the mission 160 00:08:55,040 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: objectives happened to be. In this case, it's all about 161 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: measuring various uh features of Mars, but it also has 162 00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,640 Speaker 1: to be geographically favorable for that successful landing and for 163 00:09:07,679 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: a continued operation. Sou with the case of the Insight, 164 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,000 Speaker 1: it also meant that having to pick a spot that 165 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:18,559 Speaker 1: would be favorable for solar panels, because that's how the 166 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:23,000 Speaker 1: the Insight lander recharges its batteries. So for that reason, 167 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: they chose a spot near the equator because that would 168 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 1: maximize solar exposure, and because you're relying upon automated systems 169 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: to guide the landing craft to the surface. You also 170 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: have to pick a location that's relatively flat and free 171 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: of large rocks or boulders that could cause the craft 172 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,679 Speaker 1: to topple over after touchdown. That is a tough thing 173 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: to look for on Mars. Mars is very very rocky 174 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: and uneven in many places, but the team in NASA 175 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,839 Speaker 1: eventually chose a region of Mars called the Elysium Planetia. 176 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: That was way back in when they made that choice. 177 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: That first, NASA had more than twenty potential landing sites 178 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,040 Speaker 1: identify light. Then the team directed the Mars Reconnaissance orbiter 179 00:10:03,160 --> 00:10:05,559 Speaker 1: to gather images of those sites so that they could 180 00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: choose the best candidates. Each potential site measured eighty one 181 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: miles by seventeen miles in an elliptical shape. That's a 182 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:17,079 Speaker 1: hundred thirty kilometers by twenty seven kilometers. The insight landing 183 00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: location is about three d seventy miles or six hundred 184 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: kilometers away from where the curiosity rover is, so it's 185 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: probably not going to get a visit from its fellow 186 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 1: robot anytime soon, and a monitor the progress of the 187 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: actual landing. NASA sent up a pair of small satellites 188 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:38,120 Speaker 1: called cube SATs. Along with the Insight These were the 189 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: first two cubes AT spacecraft to journey into deep space. 190 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: They are communications relay satellites. These particular cube SAT satellites 191 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,000 Speaker 1: are the Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed and built them. The 192 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,560 Speaker 1: basic unit of a cube sat is a box about 193 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: ten centimeters or four inches to a side, and CubeSats 194 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: can be made up of multiple units, and the two 195 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,120 Speaker 1: that were hitching a ride with Insight were each six 196 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,200 Speaker 1: units large. The job of those two satellites involved flying 197 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: by Mars and listening for Insights signal that would indicate 198 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,839 Speaker 1: a successful landing. The CubeSats both have UHF capabilities, though 199 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:19,520 Speaker 1: they can only receive UHF radio signals and X band capabilities, 200 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: which meant they could receive and transmit over those frequencies. Interestingly, 201 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: those satellites separated from the launch vehicle that was an 202 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,760 Speaker 1: Atlas five rocket, and they did so independently of the 203 00:11:31,840 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: Insight cruise spacecraft, and so they flew to Mars on 204 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: their own trajectories and with their own course adjustments in 205 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: order to get to where they needed to be for 206 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,840 Speaker 1: the actual landing procedure. The satellites also served as a 207 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: pilot program to test the viability of a bring your 208 00:11:48,559 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: own communications relay with a short development cycle into deep space, 209 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:55,480 Speaker 1: and it worked. Now I have a lot more to 210 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: say about INSIGHT and what it does, but before we 211 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: get to that, take a quick break to thank our sponsor. 212 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: The full name for INSIGHT is the Interior Exploration using 213 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: Seismic Investigations, GEO Daisy and Heat Transport. And I have 214 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 1: a sneaking suspicion. This is another case of a mission 215 00:12:23,280 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 1: getting a fun name and then a project team tries 216 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,800 Speaker 1: to work backward to make that name into an acronym. 217 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: But I don't know that for sure. The purpose of 218 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:35,360 Speaker 1: the mission is to deduce how celestial bodies that have 219 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: a rocky surface are formed, how do they come to be. 220 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: This would include planets like Earth, as well as satellites 221 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: like our Moon, and of course planets like Mars. The 222 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: Lander is going to do this by using several scientific 223 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: instruments to study the deep interior of Mars, and then 224 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 1: the team back on Earth is going to take the 225 00:12:56,440 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 1: information and form hypotheses to explain the formation process. The 226 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:04,360 Speaker 1: Lander will also gather data that will allow scientists on 227 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 1: Earth to make educated guesses about Mars's core. So this 228 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:13,599 Speaker 1: is really cool. This is all about observing planet's behavior 229 00:13:13,720 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: in a way and then drawing conclusions about what that 230 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:22,000 Speaker 1: means for the planet, what how the planet is made up, 231 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,240 Speaker 1: you know, what sort of core it has, that kind 232 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,520 Speaker 1: of stuff, and it's all about working backward based upon 233 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 1: these observations. I love this kind of science. Insight is 234 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: kind of like the Phoenix Lander, and that both of 235 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 1: those are stationary robotic platforms, so it's not like the Spirit, 236 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:45,080 Speaker 1: Opportunity or Curiosity rovers. Those are all robots with wheels 237 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 1: that can move around the surface of Mars. Actually, the 238 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:50,760 Speaker 1: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are still in operation to this day. 239 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: Opportunity landed on Mars in two thousand four and Curiosity 240 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 1: landed in two thousand twelve, and there's still kind of 241 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: roaming around. But insights job is to monitor conditions from 242 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,200 Speaker 1: a set location over the course of a Martian year 243 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:09,200 Speaker 1: plus forty or so martian days. Insight is a pretty 244 00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: large lander. NASA describes it as being about the size 245 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 1: of a big nineteen sixties convertible. That's a quote, but 246 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: this is tech stuffs. Let's get technical. What are the 247 00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:26,680 Speaker 1: specs for the Insight Lander, well, it is six ms long. 248 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 1: That's about nineteen ft eight inches, assuming you're measuring it 249 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:33,880 Speaker 1: when it's solar panels are deployed. Again, we'll talk about 250 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,480 Speaker 1: the solar planel panels in just a minute. It's got 251 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:39,560 Speaker 1: a width of one point five six ms that's about 252 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: five ft one inch. Uh. The deck height, so the 253 00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,720 Speaker 1: the top surface of the main portion of the lander 254 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,080 Speaker 1: ranges from eighty three centimeters to one centimeters tall or 255 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: thirty three to forty three inches. The whole thing weighs 256 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: in at a smelt three d sixty ms. Technically that's 257 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: its mass. Uh we If we're expressing it in pounds, 258 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: it would be seven pounds here on Earth. Remember, on 259 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,120 Speaker 1: Mars the mass is the same, but it weighs less 260 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: because again, mars Is gravity is a little more than 261 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: one third that of Earth's gravity. The lander has a 262 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:18,760 Speaker 1: lot of cool gadgets attached to it. It draws power 263 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: through batteries that are recharged by those solar panels I 264 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: had mentioned. Those actually had to deploy after Insight touched down, 265 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:30,400 Speaker 1: before they were all folded up and tucked away on 266 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: the sides of the platform for safety. About an hour 267 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 1: after touchdown, they began the deployment phase and this involves 268 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:42,680 Speaker 1: unfolding and then they can start catching the sun's rays. 269 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: And there's a great website for the lander over at 270 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that shows animations of the solar 271 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: panels deploying as well as the other tools and how 272 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,480 Speaker 1: those get deployed. The animations are fantastic, they really help 273 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: a lot, So I highly recommend if you're interested in 274 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:04,520 Speaker 1: the Insight Lander checking out the interactive web page over 275 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory because it's it's fantastic and 276 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: it looks super cool. Uh. The panels, the solar panels 277 00:16:12,400 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: are decagonal. That means they have ten straight sides and angles. 278 00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: You know, an octagon is eight sides and eight angles. 279 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: A decagon is ten, so they're kind of circular in shape, 280 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: but they have those flat edges. The panels measure about 281 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: seven feet or two meters across, and there are two 282 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,040 Speaker 1: of them. Has a pair of these solar panels. According 283 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 1: to one NASA web page, the combined surface area of 284 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: the two solar panels is quote as large as a 285 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:43,640 Speaker 1: ping pong table end quote. So you know, some light 286 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: recreation on Mars. If you if you decide that it's 287 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: served its purpose, I guess they're able to generate about 288 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:55,040 Speaker 1: three thousand what hours of electricity every martian day. Another 289 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: important component on this lander is its robot arm. The 290 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,960 Speaker 1: arm has three degrees of freedom and those roughly translate 291 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: to a human shoulder, elbow, and wrist joint. The arm 292 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,479 Speaker 1: has four motors to control the movements of the arm 293 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:12,640 Speaker 1: and those joints. And at the end of the arm, 294 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: instead of there being a hand or like a claw, 295 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: there's actually a grapple. It's attached by a cable. It 296 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:24,840 Speaker 1: dangles at the end of the arm, and this is 297 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: used to grasp the various tools on the platform deck 298 00:17:28,119 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: in order to lift them up and deploy them onto Mars' surface. 299 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,480 Speaker 1: So it kind of looks like one of those claw 300 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: games you see in arcades or in the Toy Story film. 301 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,800 Speaker 1: It kind of looks like that, except that the claw 302 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,320 Speaker 1: does not descend and ascend. The cable doesn't unwind and wind. 303 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,200 Speaker 1: It stays the same length, so the arm itself will 304 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,600 Speaker 1: tilt up or down. But the claw does dangle from 305 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 1: a cable. It just the cable itself is stationary. It's 306 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,520 Speaker 1: also got a firm grip, which also means it's not 307 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 1: really like a claw game because those things are rigged 308 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:07,679 Speaker 1: I tell you, stupid Teddy Bear. Anyway, it's a super 309 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: cool way of manipulating objects on the lander, and again 310 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: the animations are really fun to watch. There's a camera 311 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,960 Speaker 1: mounted on this arm it's actually between the elbow and 312 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,959 Speaker 1: wrist joints that can provide NASA images of Mars and 313 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:27,639 Speaker 1: help the team make sure that the instrumentation that's attached 314 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: to the platform is properly deployed. In fact, it's called 315 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: the Instrument Deployment Camera or i d C. So the 316 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:37,520 Speaker 1: main purpose for the arm is to place the two 317 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: of the three main sensors on the platform, two of 318 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:46,000 Speaker 1: the three main scientific experiments really on the surface of Mars. 319 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 1: More on those two experiments in just a moment. The 320 00:18:50,119 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: lander actually has a second camera. That one is mounted 321 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,399 Speaker 1: just below the surface of the deck. This one is 322 00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:00,479 Speaker 1: called the Instrument Context Camera or i C SEE, and 323 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,119 Speaker 1: it has a fish eye perspective with a field of 324 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 1: view of about hundred twenty degrees. It's aimed at the 325 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:11,440 Speaker 1: ground near the lander that serves as the landers work space. 326 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,200 Speaker 1: So both cameras have a resolution of one thousand, twenty 327 00:19:15,200 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: four by one pixels, which is not quite a two 328 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:23,920 Speaker 1: megapixel image. And in an interesting analogy, NASA has compared 329 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,919 Speaker 1: the mission to a human getting a medical check up. 330 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:31,240 Speaker 1: The Insight Lander is going to check Mars's vitals, which 331 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: includes the planet's pulse, temperature, and reflexes. So what was 332 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: that all about. Well, these are all kind of cute 333 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: ways to talk about the main instruments and scientific projects 334 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,280 Speaker 1: connected to the Insight Lander. So let's start with the pulse, 335 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 1: the pulse of the planet in this case. In this context, 336 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:55,399 Speaker 1: it refers to the seismological events on Mars. So things 337 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,440 Speaker 1: that make the earth shake, or I guess I should 338 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,720 Speaker 1: say Mars shake, it's not the earth there so, or 339 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,480 Speaker 1: as my former co host Crispalett would say, stuff what 340 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: makes the ground shake. One of the instruments inside has 341 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: is a special seismometer with a super cool wind and 342 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:17,400 Speaker 1: thermal shield. The seismometer has a cable tether that connects 343 00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:21,000 Speaker 1: it back to the Insight Lander, and the cable's purpose 344 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: is twofold. It contains both the power line and the 345 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: data line for the seismometer. So this is the way 346 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: that the lander can provide electricity to the seismometer, and 347 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: the seismometer can feed data back to the lander. The 348 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: illustrations I've looked at make it a little like the 349 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:40,639 Speaker 1: insight lander is kind of walking a weird, lumpy robot dog. 350 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 1: The lander's robotic arm is responsible for lifting the seismometer 351 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: off the platform and placing it on the surface of 352 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,800 Speaker 1: Mars near the lander itself. Then it has to put 353 00:20:50,840 --> 00:20:55,480 Speaker 1: the uh the thermal and wind shield over the seismometer. 354 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,040 Speaker 1: The purpose of the shield is pretty much what sounds like. 355 00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:01,320 Speaker 1: It's meant to protect the seismometer from gusts of wind, 356 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: primarily that would possibly cause the seizemometer to register false readings. 357 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: If the wind pushes the seismometer around that it's going 358 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: to start registering as if there's an earthquake or Mars quake. 359 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:16,080 Speaker 1: I guess this way, the shield blocks that wind and 360 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: the seizemometer just keeps on, you know, monitoring the movement 361 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: of the ground beneath it. The wind and thermal shield 362 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,280 Speaker 1: is made out of aluminum. The main shielding part on 363 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:30,280 Speaker 1: the top anyway, is made out of aluminum. It looks 364 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: like a dome with little lander legs almost like a 365 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,639 Speaker 1: little ufo. It also has a metallic skirt that hangs 366 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:40,719 Speaker 1: down beneath the dome. It's the thermal skirt. It's actually 367 00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: made out of gold. And then this gold skirt has 368 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,680 Speaker 1: a bottom edge made out of and I am not 369 00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:51,120 Speaker 1: making this up, honest to goodness, the edge is made 370 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: out of chain mail, like the stuff that nights used 371 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,200 Speaker 1: to wear back in medieval times. How cool is that? 372 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: So this chain mail actually serves a couple of different purposes. 373 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,679 Speaker 1: For one, it's it's heavier than the skirt is, so 374 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 1: it helps pull down on the skirt while the little 375 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,879 Speaker 1: arm is lifting the shield up off the deck of 376 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,760 Speaker 1: the lander. The chain mail provides the weight to help 377 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: pull the skirt straight so that it goes down all 378 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,120 Speaker 1: around the sides of the seismometer. Also, the chain mail 379 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,080 Speaker 1: is flexible, so it can drape over any small pebbles 380 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,679 Speaker 1: or rocks to allow a pretty good seal of the 381 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:33,400 Speaker 1: shield over the seismometer. The shield itself is about fourteen 382 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,960 Speaker 1: inches or thirty five centimeters tall, twenty seven inches or 383 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 1: sixty nine centimeters in diameter, and has a mass of 384 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 1: twelve kilograms, which means here on Earth it would weigh 385 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,000 Speaker 1: about twenty six and a half pounds. I'll finish up 386 00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: this section by giving a quick overview of how seismometers work, 387 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,439 Speaker 1: and then we'll talk about the other two experiments in 388 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,160 Speaker 1: the next section. So typically we would pair a seismometer 389 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: up with some sort of recording device, which would mean 390 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:01,919 Speaker 1: that we would have a seismograph. That's when you have 391 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: the two components together. So a simple version of this 392 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,320 Speaker 1: one that you might see here on Earth uh, an 393 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:13,720 Speaker 1: old school simple mechanical version of a seismometer would be 394 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: a frame that has good contact with the ground. So 395 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: you've got a frame that is set on whatever surface 396 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:25,920 Speaker 1: you're measuring. Suspended from the top of that frame would 397 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 1: be a weight on a spring, and the weight would 398 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: hold some sort of writing utensil, like a pen. That 399 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: pen the end of it would rest against a strip 400 00:23:35,119 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: of paper that could be rolled or pulled in such 401 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 1: a way that the pen is drawing a line on 402 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,639 Speaker 1: that strip strip of paper as the paper moves past it. 403 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,680 Speaker 1: If there's a trimmer, the frame is going to move 404 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: along with the ground, but the suspended weight will tend 405 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 1: to remain motionless as it is largely isolated from the 406 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: ground and the frame and an object at rest tends 407 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:03,000 Speaker 1: to stay at rest. So you can think of it 408 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,280 Speaker 1: as the frame and the earth and everything else is 409 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:07,159 Speaker 1: moving up and down. The weight is kind of just 410 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:12,080 Speaker 1: staying where it was, and that means that the paper 411 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:14,240 Speaker 1: is going to be moving up and down against the pen. 412 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 1: Not the pen against the paper. The paper itself is 413 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:18,679 Speaker 1: moving up and down because the ground is moving up 414 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 1: and down. And that means that the pen is gonna 415 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: start drawing squiggles on this paper. And so you could 416 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 1: look over the paper and wherever you saw squiggles, you'd say, 417 00:24:26,960 --> 00:24:29,000 Speaker 1: all right, well that was where there was an earthquake 418 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: or an aftershock, or maybe a large truck drove by 419 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,879 Speaker 1: or whatever. The seismometer on the insite works on a 420 00:24:35,920 --> 00:24:39,080 Speaker 1: similar principle, except instead of holding a pen, instead of 421 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 1: it being mechanical, the relative motion between the weight and 422 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:46,240 Speaker 1: the frame would create an electrical voltage, and changes in 423 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,199 Speaker 1: that voltage are recorded by a computer system on the 424 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:52,800 Speaker 1: insite and transmitted back to Earth, and those are interpreted 425 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: as the various quakes. I have a lot more to 426 00:24:55,840 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 1: say about the experiments aboard the Insight, but first let's 427 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:09,280 Speaker 1: take another quick break to thank our sponsor. So the 428 00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:13,399 Speaker 1: second vital sign Insight is going to monitor is temperature. 429 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:15,919 Speaker 1: The deck of the lander has a temperature censor of 430 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,000 Speaker 1: its own to give surface readings. But what I think 431 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:23,600 Speaker 1: is super interesting is what is called the HP three instrument. 432 00:25:24,240 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: HP three stands for heat flow and Physical Properties probe. 433 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,280 Speaker 1: It's another tethered instrument that connects back to the lander, 434 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,960 Speaker 1: and like the seismometer, the robotic arm has to lift 435 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:39,199 Speaker 1: up the HP three and then place it on the 436 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,359 Speaker 1: surface of Mars in the work space in front of 437 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:47,520 Speaker 1: the lander. Inside this instrument is a probe. It looks 438 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: like almost like a spike, and it's called the mole 439 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: and it's tied. It's a type of pine traumater. I 440 00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:56,880 Speaker 1: didn't even know that was a word until I did 441 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,840 Speaker 1: this research, but that essentially is a tool designed to 442 00:25:59,840 --> 00:26:02,760 Speaker 1: pay to trate a surface. That's the name pentatrometer. In 443 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:06,240 Speaker 1: this case, we're talking about the Martian soil. So inside 444 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,600 Speaker 1: this spike, which again is is got a cable out 445 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,240 Speaker 1: the back of it that goes back up into the instrument. 446 00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:15,639 Speaker 1: The cable is held in a way where it can 447 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,600 Speaker 1: be fed out gradually, so that as the spike is 448 00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:22,879 Speaker 1: digging down it can continue to have enough slack to 449 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:27,360 Speaker 1: do this. But inside the spike, inside the penta traumeter 450 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,520 Speaker 1: is a weight on a spring. Essentially, that's a hammer. 451 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,920 Speaker 1: It's inside the spike. So imagine you've got a nail 452 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:38,040 Speaker 1: or a railroad spike or something like that. But the 453 00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:42,760 Speaker 1: hammer for this nail or spike is actually inside the 454 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: spike or the nail itself, so it's a self hammering nail. 455 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,240 Speaker 1: The mechanism draws power from the lander to pull back 456 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:54,800 Speaker 1: the weight that compresses a spring, and then you latch 457 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: it into place. When it's completely compressed, you can unleash 458 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: this weight. The spring will expand rapidly, pushing the weight 459 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: down so that it collides with a little section at 460 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 1: the very tip of this probe, and it's like a 461 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 1: hammer knocking a nail, and it starts to hammer the 462 00:27:15,359 --> 00:27:18,280 Speaker 1: spike down. This is actually a pretty slow process. It 463 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:23,000 Speaker 1: does not happen super fast. It's not like one, uh 464 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,320 Speaker 1: one bash and suddenly the spike is several feet in 465 00:27:26,359 --> 00:27:28,720 Speaker 1: the soil. That's not the way it works. It's very gradual. 466 00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:33,959 Speaker 1: So by keeping a careful tension on the cable so 467 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: that the spike is properly positioned, and by doing this 468 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:39,880 Speaker 1: several times, you start to drive the spike down into 469 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:43,960 Speaker 1: the soil. It's gonna take months, but ultimately this mole 470 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,560 Speaker 1: is going to dig down to a depth of about 471 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:51,200 Speaker 1: five meters or sixteen feet, which is deeper than anyone 472 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:53,920 Speaker 1: has dug on Mars up to this point as far 473 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: as we know anyway. But obviously this instrument is doing 474 00:27:57,320 --> 00:27:59,960 Speaker 1: more than just digging a hole on Mars. I mean, 475 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,040 Speaker 1: that's super cool the way they're doing it, but that's 476 00:28:02,080 --> 00:28:04,760 Speaker 1: not the only thing it's doing. The probe and the 477 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 1: tether that's trailing behind it contains temperature sensors, and those 478 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 1: sensors will monitor the heat flowing from the interior of Mars, 479 00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,840 Speaker 1: which will help tell scientists what the inside of Mars 480 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: is like. It could inform scientists about how active Mars 481 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,400 Speaker 1: is and whether it's made out of similar stuff as Earth. 482 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 1: The probe isn't just listening either. As the probe digs 483 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:32,680 Speaker 1: down at certain stages, it will occasionally stop and it 484 00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 1: will put out a pulse of heat of its own. 485 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: Then it will monitor how that heat flows through the 486 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: material around the probe. So if that material happens to 487 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: be a good conductor like metal, like coppers. A great 488 00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: conductor of heat, the heat will decay very quickly, it'll 489 00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:54,280 Speaker 1: move outwards through this conductive material. But if it's a 490 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 1: poor conductor, more like glass, the heat's going to stick 491 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:01,920 Speaker 1: around a lot longer. The HP three probe weighs in 492 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 1: at about six point five pounds at least it would 493 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: here on Earth. That means it has a mass of 494 00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 1: about three kims and it only consumes to watts max 495 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: as the probe starts to dig down into the Martian soil. 496 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:19,480 Speaker 1: The last of the three big experiments would be a 497 00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:23,480 Speaker 1: pair of RISE antennas on the deck of the lander. 498 00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:26,040 Speaker 1: These would not be removed from the deck and placed 499 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: on the Martian soil. They will stay on the lander. 500 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:35,480 Speaker 1: RISE stands for Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment. These antennae 501 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: will track Mars's motions as it rotates, so essentially, it's 502 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 1: all about detecting that wobble. So how much does Mars 503 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: wobble around? Knowing how much it wobbles around will tell 504 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:54,200 Speaker 1: scientists valuable information about Mars's core. How big is Mars's core, 505 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: Is it a solid core, is it a liquid core? 506 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: What elements besides iron might be in the core. Well, 507 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,600 Speaker 1: the way Rise works is actually pretty darn simple. It 508 00:30:03,680 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: listens for an incoming signal from Earth, and then it 509 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: sends the signal back to Earth. This will reveal the 510 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: precise location of the lander, well precise location from a 511 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,520 Speaker 1: few minutes in the past. Because again the signals can 512 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:18,840 Speaker 1: only travel as fast as light, it may take a 513 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 1: few minutes for that to happen, depending upon where Earth 514 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 1: and Mars are in their respective orbits. But back on Earth, 515 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: computers will take this this return signal and analyze it 516 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:35,200 Speaker 1: for changes and looking for evidence of Doppler shift. I've 517 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: talked about Doppler shift many times on this show, but 518 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:44,720 Speaker 1: just so you remember, if you've got something moving in 519 00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:49,320 Speaker 1: a wave, whether it's a radio wave or a physical wave, 520 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:54,080 Speaker 1: whatever it may be, h it has a certain frequency. 521 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 1: And if the wave is coming from a stationary object 522 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: and then it hits a different state stionary object, any 523 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: reflective waves. Reflective waves that come back to the source 524 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: are going to be unchanged except for their direction. Right 525 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:12,200 Speaker 1: that you're gonna get back the same frequency of wave 526 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:15,920 Speaker 1: if both objects are stationary, But if the objects are 527 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: moving closer to each other, the returning wave is going 528 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: to be compressed, so it's going to be at a 529 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: higher frequency. If the two objects are moving away from 530 00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: each other, the wave is going to be elongated to 531 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:31,040 Speaker 1: a lower frequency. And by measuring these changes, scientists will 532 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,000 Speaker 1: be able to figure out how much Mars is wobbling 533 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: around as it orbits the Sun. Now, Earth wobbles every 534 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 1: eighteen years thanks to the Moon's pull on us, and 535 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:46,760 Speaker 1: we already know that Mars does in fact wobble, In fact, 536 00:31:46,840 --> 00:31:49,320 Speaker 1: it wobbles over the course of a single Martian year, 537 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: but we don't know to what degree how much does 538 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:55,320 Speaker 1: it wobble. We know it does, we just don't know 539 00:31:55,760 --> 00:32:00,160 Speaker 1: how uh intense that wobble is. So the Rye his 540 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:03,280 Speaker 1: instruments will provide more information to fill in this knowledge gap. 541 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,200 Speaker 1: And the amount of wobble planet has depends partly on 542 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:12,040 Speaker 1: what is in the delicious neugute center of that planet. So, 543 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,680 Speaker 1: as NASA points out in a really helpful web page, 544 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 1: a hard boiled egg is going to spend faster than 545 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:21,920 Speaker 1: a raw egg. Also, planets that have liquid cores will 546 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: wobble more when they spend. Planets with a solid core 547 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,239 Speaker 1: will wobble less, and this in turn can help us 548 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: make other hypotheses about why Mars has a very weak 549 00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: magnetic field in comparison to Earth's magnetic field. So it's 550 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,640 Speaker 1: all about learning more about why is Mars the way 551 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: it is and more about how Mars actually is. There 552 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,560 Speaker 1: are other instruments on the lander that aren't getting quite 553 00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: the same level of coverage. The lander has an atmospheric 554 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:52,800 Speaker 1: pressure sensor, for example. It also has a uh F 555 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: antenna to allow the lander to communicate to satellites that 556 00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:59,800 Speaker 1: are in Martian orbit, which includes the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter 557 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,960 Speaker 1: and the Mars Odyssey Orbiter, both of which pass over 558 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:06,640 Speaker 1: in Sight two times every Martian day. And there are 559 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:08,600 Speaker 1: other satellites that can chat with as well, like the 560 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: European Space Agencies Trace Gas Orbiter or NASA's Mars Atmosphere 561 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:18,040 Speaker 1: and Volatile Evolution Orbiter also known as MAVEN. It can 562 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: talk to those in a pinch if it needs to. 563 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,720 Speaker 1: So Insight will stand on Mars doing its thing for 564 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,440 Speaker 1: at least a Martian year plus some change, maybe longer 565 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: things continue to work out properly. Sometimes these missions can 566 00:33:31,360 --> 00:33:36,960 Speaker 1: go well beyond their initial projected phase, and if NASA 567 00:33:36,960 --> 00:33:39,640 Speaker 1: can figure out other things to do with the material 568 00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: that's already there, then that is incredibly helpful. There's some 569 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 1: other elements on it as well. There's a reflective surface, 570 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 1: for example. They could be used to locate the precise 571 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: position of the lander. You just direct a laser at 572 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:53,720 Speaker 1: it and look for the reflection. I'm sure we'll learn 573 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,000 Speaker 1: tons of interesting things about Mars using this device, and 574 00:33:58,080 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 1: probably a lot about Earth as well, which pretty exciting stuff. Now, 575 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 1: in our next episode, I'm gonna stick with Mars for 576 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: a little bit. I'm gonna talk about the various proposals 577 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,840 Speaker 1: to send people to Mars and what that would entail, 578 00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,759 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about why it would be super hard 579 00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,840 Speaker 1: to do and why some people like Bill and the 580 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:18,000 Speaker 1: Science Guy are skeptical that we're ever going to actually 581 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:23,000 Speaker 1: go there for a prolonged stay. And maybe we'll also 582 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,879 Speaker 1: talk about why Elon Musk thinks there's a decent chance 583 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:28,600 Speaker 1: he's gonna end up there. So tune in tomorrow to 584 00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:31,360 Speaker 1: hear that episode. If you guys have any suggestions for 585 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:35,160 Speaker 1: future episodes of tech Stuff, whether it's a specific technology, 586 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,480 Speaker 1: that type of of gadget that you've always wanted to 587 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:41,000 Speaker 1: know more about. Maybe it's a company history that you 588 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,439 Speaker 1: want to know more, or a person in tech let 589 00:34:43,440 --> 00:34:45,920 Speaker 1: me know. Send me an email. The addresses tech stuff 590 00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:48,880 Speaker 1: at how stuff works dot com. Don't forget to go 591 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,399 Speaker 1: to our website, tech stuff podcast dot com. You can 592 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: find all sorts of information about the show there and 593 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,680 Speaker 1: also a link to our store, which you can also 594 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 1: find at t public dot com slash text. Every purchase 595 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,160 Speaker 1: you make goes to help the show, and we greatly 596 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:05,799 Speaker 1: appreciate it. There's some cool stuff on there, so take 597 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:07,600 Speaker 1: a look around if you haven't seen it, you might 598 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,839 Speaker 1: see something you really like. And that's all for me. 599 00:35:10,960 --> 00:35:19,480 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again really soon for more on 600 00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:22,000 Speaker 1: this and thousands of other topics because it how stuff 601 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:32,600 Speaker 1: works dot com