Dwarf Planet Ceres is an ocean world

NASA's Dawn spacecraft shot by the dwarf planet Ceres two years ago. After conducting data analysis on the Occator crater, scientists now say Ceres is an ocean world with brine under the surface. These studies were published separately in Nature Astronomy and Geoscience. Ceres lies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Writing in a news release, NASA says the Dawn mission passed the dwarf planet, and from a distance of about 35 kilometres away, the orbiter took crisp images of Ceres' strangely bright areas and made gravity measurements. From the data, Dawn scientists from the California Institute of Technology determined there is a brine reservoir under the crater's surface, about 40 kilometres deep and hundreds of kilometres wide. The brine consists of sodium chloride bounded with water and ammonium chloride, and the salty liquid is apparently rising to the surface. These compounds are organic chemicals, and the brine also reflects light, which explains the crater's bright areas. Researchers say a meteor impact formed the crater millions of years ago and created fissures that reached the reservoir deep in Ceres' structure. This allows the salty liquids to move up to the surface.

Meet Arrokoth: A Ice Body Renamed by NASA

A small visited by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft on 1st January is now known as Arrokoth.

NASA’s New Horizons sent the first detailed images showing two spheres stuck together in the shape of a snowman.

Introduction

This object was previously known as Ultima Thule or 2014 MU69. That name was chosen to mean something like “farthest place”. But it attracted a discussion or debate because “Thule” is a word that has been associated with Nazis in the past. 

NASA said that the old name, Ultima Thule (2014 MU69), was just a temporary name, but the new name is used officially and permanently.

New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern, of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, said in a statement that, “The name 'Arrokoth' reflects the inspiration of looking to the skies and wondering about the stars and worlds beyond our own”

Today (November 13), the mission team announced that the 34 kilometres (21 miles) wide body visited by NASA’s New Horizon space is now known as Arrokoth. Arrokoth or Ultima Thule is the farthest body visited by a spacecraft. Arrokoth means ‘sky’ in the Native American Powhatan and Algonquian languages. 

This icy body orbits in the dark and frigid Kuiper Belt, approximately a billion kilometres beyond Pluto. Also, it is 6.6 billion kilometres away from Earth.

Let’s go into history, Arrokoth was discovered on 26 June 2014 by Marc William Buie (American astronomer) using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Did you know that Arrokoth orbital period is 297 Earth years? It is 132 years longer than Neptune’s orbital period, 165 years.  

Photos

The first colour photo of the Kuiper Belt object, Ultima Thule reveals that the object is red, not grey, as seen from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft from a distance of 137,000 kilometres during the January 1st flyby.

The first image which was sent by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft was quite undetailed. The surface features of the rock, or object were coming into focus in these images taken. These images were taken on 1st January, but released on the 2nd of January, from a distance of 28,000 kilometres.

Sources:

• https://www.space.com/ultima-thule-beyond-pluto-new-name-arrokoth.html?utm_source=notification
• https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/nasa-ultima-thule-arrokoth-name-nazi-controversy-new-horizons-a9200576.html
• https://phys.org/news/2019-11-nasa-renames-faraway-ice-world.html
• https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/kuiper-belt/2014-mu69/overview/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/486958_Arrokoth
• https://www.space.com/42867-ultima-thule-pictures-new-horizons-flyby-photos.html

Rare Mercury Transit, Next in 2032

Welcome to another post on my blog. In today's post, I am going to share you the rare event which is going to start tomorrow, the Mercury Transit.

Mercury, that smallest planet in the solar system is going to transit the sun tomorrow on 12 November at 6:02 AM. The last Mercury transit has happened in 2016. The next rare event is going to happen in 2032. We need to wait for 13 more years for the next one. 

So this transit will last for 1 hour and 6 minutes. This transit will start at 5:58 AM. The midpoint of the transit is at 6:01 AM. The midpoint means the best time to see the transit. The end of the transit is at 7:04 AM. In Christchurch and the rest of New Zealand, the transit is near the max. 

The 2016 Mercury Transit
Credit: ScienceAtNASA

After reading about the Mercury transit, you must be thinking, what is a transit? A transit is where one object crosses in front of the other object in space. An example of a transit is when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. The Moon is “transiting” the Sun. This is also called a solar eclipse. But the Moon isn’t the only object which can transit the Sun. We can see Venus when it passes between Earth and the Sun on its object. Because of how the orbits of Venus and the Earth line up, we can’t see the transit of Venus really often. This is a rare transit. transits occur in early May and early November. People don’t see a Mercury transit every year. The last transit of Venus was on 6 June 2012, we can’t see the next one until 2117!

If you want more information about the transit and what happens during a transit, read this infographic below from Space.com.

Let’s go back to the Mercury transit. If you want to see the transit, you need a telescope and solar filters to view the transit. Mercury’s diameter is only 1/194th of that of the sun, as seen from the Earth. That’s why, the master of the eclipse, Fred Espenak suggests using a telescope with a magnification of 50 to 100 times for observing the event.

If you don’t have any telescope or any tools to view the transit, you can try an online view of the transit. The Virtual Telescope is hosting a live observation. Or, watch the live stream from Time and Date.

Mercury Transit
Credit: The Planetary Society

The planet will look like a tiny, small mark travelling on the sun’s face as it passes through in front of the sun. Did you know that the Mercury transit occurs only 13 or 14 times per century? You know that the last transit was in 2016 and it won’t happen again until November 2032. What’s the best way to see and enjoy the event that, like a solar eclipse, it is observable during the day time. 

Mercury transit will be visible from most of North America, all of South America, all of Africa, parts of Europe, Asia, Oceania and Antarctica. According to a map developed by Time and Date, sky gazers in cities like Montreal, New York and Sao Paulo will be able to see and observe the entire transit. People sky gazing in cities like Rome, Cario and Honolulu can view part of the transit.

Let’s go to New Zealand history about the Mercury transit. About 250 years ago Captain Cook’s astronomer observed a similar event. Stargazers will gather at Mercury Bay (Te Whanganui o Hei), where astronomer Charles Green and Captain Cook observed the planetary phenomenon in 1769. This transit will be visible across New Zealand, but only with a telescope. Astronomy societies across the country will be setting up star parties for people to observe the transit, according to astronomer and Otago Museum director Ian Griffin. Stardome astronomer Dr Grant Christie said November 9, 1769, happened to be clear weather, enabling Green a good view of the solar system's innermost planet. "They noted that Mercury seemed like a little disc against the sun and implied that it didn't have a big fuzzy atmosphere."

"On the morning of the 12th of November, as the sun rises, the planet Mercury will be transiting across the face of the sun," he said. "You won't be able to see it with the naked eye ... you need a special solar telescope.”

Sources:

• https://earthsky.org/tonight/transit-of-mercury-on-november-11-2019
• https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/transits/en/
• https://www.space.com/mercury-transit-2019-viewing-guide.html
• https://youtu.be/dDd_cS6SHqA
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2019/11/08/four-easy-ways-you-can-watch-monday-as-mercury-transits-the-sun-for-the-last-time-until-2032/ 
• https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/402324/all-night-star-party-mercury-transit-visible-from-nz
• https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12281668

Is it a Sea or What?

Welcome to another post on my blog. In today's post, we are looking at a sea in the moon? A Sea in the Moon? To know more information, scroll down.

15 September 2019

Sea of Tranquillity or Mare Tranquilitatis, the landing of Apollo 11 which gave its first walk on the moon. Are you serious, walk? In the Sea of Tranquillity? Well, the Sea of Tranquillity is not a sea, so Neil Armstrong didn’t walk in water, actually, there isn’t a single sea on the Moon. Early astronomers mistook them as actual seas.

The Sea of Tranquillity was once thought to be an ocean. It appears dark when viewed from Earth, smooth and relatively flat.

The actual landing site of Apollo 11 is named as Satatio Tranquillitatis or Tranquility Base. 

References:

• Sea of Tranquility - Universe Today
• How did the Sea of Tranquillity get its name? - Quora
• Apollo 11 Landing Site | National Air and Space Museum
• Lunar mare - Wikipedia

Insurance Declined!

Welcome to another post on my blog. In today's post, we are going to look about an Insurance Declined. What? For more information scroll down.

14 September 2019

Have you had insurance declined? But have you heard about Life Insurance in space? If you want to go to space, would you get an insurance, of course, you would. But if your insurance gets declined, how would you feel? Sad, frustrated, angry or mad, right? 

This story had happened to astronauts from Apollo 11. Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, got their insurance declined, but they still went to the moon. NASA didn’t have any special life insurance for its astronauts.

Neil Armstrong was famous, with the Apollo 11 crew. At that time, everyone wanted their autographs. Apollo 11 crew astronauts had been signing autographs since the day that they were announced as astronauts. They had been signing what they called “insurance covers”, which were small white postcards. They would wait until the launch date before signing and mailing the cards to their family, friends and their loved ones.

Fortunately, their creative insurance was never needed. Their mission was a success.

References:

• https://www.insurewithpetra.com/blog/apollo-11-who-insured-the-astronauts/
• https://listverse.com/2017/02/17/10-dirty-little-secrets-from-nasa/
• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/apollo-insurance-covers-collectibles

Our Passion

Welcome to another post on my blog. Last week, we had to make a DLO which showed information about it. Our teacher said that we had to make a DLO about something that we are passionate about. I hope you like my post. Comment down below what you're passionate about. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Here is the link to the facts

It's Live!!

Welcome to another post on my blog. I am in my house watching the Chandrayaan 2 launch. It is a spacecraft going to launch in India. The spacecraft is going to the south pole of the moon. It is a historic moment because no country has been to the moon's south pole. Here is a live video of the launch.

If you are watching after the launch. It might look long.

Want to see the launch? What is it about?

Chandrayaan 2 Night View at the Second Launch-Pad
Credit: https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/Chandrayaan-2%20Mission%20Gallery/psk2826.jpg

Welcome to another post on my blog. You will be thinking, what is this post about. Well, today, 'Chandrayaan 2' will be launching at 8:43 PM New Zealand Standard Time or (2:43 PM Indian Standard Time) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Let's know some facts and information about the rocket before we carry on.

• Launch Time & Date: 22 July 2019, 8:43 PM (New Zealand Standard Time)
• Launch Location: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
• Launch Vehicle: GSLV MK-III (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III)
• Launch Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch-Pad
• Landing Site: Lunar South Pole
• Manufacturer: ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation)
• Mission Type: Lunar orbiter, lander, rover
• Mission Duration: 
• Orbiter: 1 year
• Vikram lander: <15 days
• Pragyan rover: <15 days
• Chandrayaan 2 is going to launch to study the Moon and its south pole.

Pragyan Rover going on the ramp
Credit: https://www.isro.gov.in/sites/default/files/galleries/

On 15th July 2019, Chandrayaan was scheduled to launch at 2:51 PM (Indian Standard Time), was called off (was not going to happen) due to 'technical snag'. It was noticed around one hour before launch. The launch was postponed to the 22nd July 2019 at 2:43 PM (Indian Standard Time) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre. 

Chandrayaan 2 is readying for launch. Just after a few hours, Chandrayaan 2 is going to launch. 

Chandrayaan 2 is an Indian lunar mission. That no country has ever gone to, the Moon's south pole. ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is to develop the understanding of the Moon which will benefit India and the world about the Moon.

You might be thinking, why is India sending 'Chandrayaan 2' to the Moon?

The purpose of Chandrayaan 2 is that the Moon is the closest body which space discovery can be tried. Chandrayaan 2 attempts to increase the understanding of space. Also to soft-land on the moon and operate a robotic rover on the surface. The goals include the studies of mineralogy, lunar topography, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere, the signatures of hydroxyl and water ice.

Because, when India launched Chandrayaan 1, they found out that there are water and ice on the south pole. They analyzed that it was water ice. 

In Chandrayaan 2, they want to understand deeper about the lunar water ice. The lunar south pole is interesting because it remains in a shadow that is larger than in the North Pole. There is a possibility of water in the shadowed areas. Additionally, the South Pole region has craters that are cold traps and has a fossil record of the early Solar System.

If there is water on the moon, can we live there?

Well, if we want to live on the moon, we have to live in caves. On Mars, we possibly live above-ground. 

There are a few reasons why Chandrayaan 2 is special

1. The first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface.
2. The first Indian mission to explore the moon's terrain.
3. The fourth country to soft-land on the moon.

Let's know about the rocket and the launcher.

Launcher and the Spacecraft

Launcher

GSLV MK-III, India's most powerful launcher. GSLV MK-III is also known as Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III. It is a three-stage vehicle, launching 4-ton (4,000kg) satellites to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The three components of the launcher are, S200 solid rocket boosters, L110 liquid stage, and the C25 upper stage.

Orbiter

The Orbiter will observe the moon's surface and the communication between the Earth and Vikram. The weight of the orbiter is 2,379 kg or 2.379 tons. The Electric Power Generation Capability of Vikram is 1,000 watts. The mission life for the Orbiter is 1 year in lunar orbit. At the time of the launch, Chandrayaan 2's orbiter (Vikram) will be capable of communicating with the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN) at Byalalu with the Vikram Lander.


The Lander - Vikram





The lander of Chandrayaan 2 is named Vikram, after Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, the father of the Indian Space Programme. It is designed to function for one lunar day = 14 Earth days. Vikram can communicate with IDSN (Indian Deep Space Network) at Byalalu near Bangalore, with the Orbiter and the Rover. The lander is designed to perform a soft landing on the lunar surface.

The weight of the lander is 1,471 kg or 1.471 tons. The Electric Power Generation Capability is 650 watts. The mission life for the Lander is 1 year in lunar orbit.

The landing site of the moon is: High plain between two craters. Manzinus C and Simpelius N at a latitude about 70.9° South 22.7°.


The Rover - Pragyan

The Chandrayaan 2's rover is a 6-wheeled robotic vehicle named Pragyan. Pragyan translates to 'wisdom' in Sanskrit. (A classical Indian language for Hinduism, Buddism and Jainism). It can travel up to 500m (½ a kilometre). It can only communicate to the lander, Vikram. The weight of Pragyan is 27 kg and the Electric Power Generation Capability is 50 watts. The mission life for the Rover is 1 year in lunar orbit.



Timeline of the mission

18 September 2008 - Former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh approves the Chandrayaan 2 mission.

22 July 2019 - Launch Date

7 September 2019 - Landing of the Moon

For 1 Lunar Day (14 Earth Days) - Scientific Experiment on the Moon.

Around for one year - Orbital Experiment



Mission Sequence

Phase	Period
Earth-bound Phase	Lift off: 22 JulyDay 1 to Day 23 (23 Days)
Trans Lunar Injection (TLI)	Day 23
Lunar Transfer Trajectory (LTT)	Day 23 to Day 30
Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI)	Day 30
Lunar Bound Phase (LBN)	Day 30 to Day 42 (13 days)
Lander-Orbiter Separation	Day 43
Deboosting	Day 44
Powered Descent Starts	Day 48
Landing	Day 48

I hope you like my post about Chandrayaan 2. Please watch live the Chandrayaan 2 launch. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

First Instrument on the Surface of Mars!

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Putting SEIS on the Ground – NASA's InSight Mars Lander

On the 19 December, NASA had posted about InSight placing its first instrument on the surface of Mars. Most of my posts in this holidays is about the Summer Learning Journey, so I think that you haven't seen my last InSight post, 'It's First Selfie!'. It is about InSight taking a selfie, it shows the solar panels and deck. The post wasn't that long because of the Summer Learning Journey.

There are new images of the SEIS (seismometer) on the ground. InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman said, "InSight's timetable of activities on Mars has gone better than we hoped." "Getting the seismometer safely on the ground is an awesome Christmas present."

On the top of the post, there is a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) where there are a set of images which makes an animated video. In the GIF, it shows how InSight places the seismometer on the Martian surface. The image was taken on 19 December, with InSight's Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC), which is on the lander's arm.

On the right, is one of the images in the GIF. This was the first time where a spacecraft robotically placed a seismometer onto the surface of another planet.

I will remind you what is InSight's seismometer. A seismometer which is also called Seismic Explorations for Interior Structure (SEIS), which will measure the seismic waves caused by marsquakes (mars because it is in Mars, not earthquakes because it is on Earth), meteorite strikes and other phenomena. These waves go through Mars' interior and will let scientists know how the planet's crust, mantle and core are layered. Also, it will inform more about how all rocky planets were formed, which includes Earth and its Moon.

The InSight team has been working toward the science instruments in Mars' soil since the landing (26 November).

I hope you like my post about the seismometer placing on Mars. Comment down below if you learnt something new. Have a cool night. Bye!!

The Wind Sound of Mars

Yesterday, I had posted about the update of NASA's InSight lander. I had read an article today afternoon and decided to create a post about it. If you haven't seen the post, click on the link and please comment it, I will know your opinions.

Well, today, NASA had posted about when InSight senses Mars' wind. Listen to Mars' wind blow across NASA's InSight lander. InSight's seismometer (information in my last post) and air pressure sensor picked up vibrations from 16-24 kph winds as it blew across Mars' Elysium Planitia on 1 December 2018.

Below is a video from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) about the sounds of wind on Mars, which includes a short preview of the sound. If you want to hear the sound of Mars' wind, click on this link, the clip is only 20 seconds long. If you want to download the clip, use the shortcut key, 'Ctrl + S' and your clip is downloaded.

I hope you like my post about the Wind Sound of Mars. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Update on NASA's InSight Lander

Just a few posts ago, I had posted about InSight's landing, it was called 'Touchdown!'. I have made a post of what has happened since the landing. It has facts, mission goals, images after landing and videos about InSight.

On the day that InSight landed, there were three images taken (two from Instrument Context Camera (ICC) and one from Instrument Context Camera (ICC)). Now, there are 46 images taken! The latest image is below from the Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC). There are 17 images taken on Sol 10 - 7 December 2018. The image was taken on Sol 10 (day 10 on Mars = 20 Earth days), on 7 December 2018, 12:52:42 PM.

Let's know about InSight's instruments. InSight has three instruments, the first one is a Seismometer.

InSight's Seismometer, SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) is a round, dome-shaped instrument that sits on the surface of Mars, which takes the pulse or seismic vibrations of Mars. The measurements provide information about Mars' internal activity. The Seismometer waits to sense the marsquakes (mars instead of earth - earthquakes) and seismic waves. SEIS measurements inform scientists about the nature of the material that formed the rocky planets of our Solar System. This reveals what is beneath Mars, also, the Seismometer might even inform if there are active volcanoes, liquid water or plumes which are underneath the surface of Mars. The main job of the Seismometer is to measure the pulse of Mars, by studying waves created by Marsquakes.

Below is a video from National Geographic. Knowing about InSight taking Mars' pulse.

Did you know that the SEIS seismometer is so sensitive, it can detect surface movements smaller than a hydrogen atom!?

Here are five facts that you need to know:

1. The seismometer can sense weather phenomena like, dust storms that produce seismic waves.
2. Scientists expect from the seismometer to detect five to ten meteor impacts over the InSight mission.
3. The InSight lander delivers the first seismometer to Mars in the first 40 years. The last time seismometers travelled to Mars was with the Viking landers.
4. InSight's SEIS seismometer is like a doctor's stethoscope, like a doctor listening to the patient's heartbeat, SEIS listens for marsquakes.
5. The SEIS is ultra-sensitive that can tune in to tremors smaller than a hydrogen atom!

So these are some five amazing facts about the SEIS. We all know what are Earthquakes, right? But, do you know what are Marsquakes? Here is a video from JPL from the series, Mars in a Minute, about Marsquakes. It's just only a minute long.

The next instrument is called the Heat Probe. The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe, (HP3). Which makes a hole down to almost five meters. The HP3 takes Mars' temperature, which reveals how much heat is flowing out of the inside of the planet. The mass of HP3 is just over 3 kilograms. The maximum power of the HP3 is about 2 watts while digging underneath the surface.

Here are five facts that you need to know about the HP3.

1. HP3 tells scientists how heat flows inside Mars.
2. HP3 takes the temperature of the interior of Mars.
3. Information from the heat flow reveals if Earth and Mars are formed from the same stuff, also, how active Mars is.
4. HP3 package has a probe that digs down up to 5 meters below the surface. That's deeper than previous instruments to any other moon, planet or asteroid, which have only dug up the upper inch of rock or soil.
5. HP3 pulls the ribbon-shaped cable behind it, that's jam-packed full of temperature sensors.

Our third and final instrument is called the Radio Science Experiment. The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), 'tracks the location of the lander to decide just how much Mars' North Pole wobbles as it orbits the sun.' This observation will include detailed information about the size of Mars' rich core. The main job of RISE is an apostrophe. The location of RISE is two Medium-Gain 'horn' Antennas (MGAs) on InSight's deck. The mass is about 7.3 kilograms. The antennas are about 1.4 kilograms. 

Here are five things that you need to know:

1. RISE tracks the location of InSight lander every day, which also knows its location to within a few centimetres.
2. RISE simply sends back the signal sent to the lander from Earth, via the Deep Space Network, revealing InSight's location.
3. As the seasons change on Mars, carbon dioxide controls and shortens at the poles, causing tiny changes in the rotation rate of Mars, affecting the length of Mars' day. RISE will be able to measure these changes.
4. RISE will help control if Mars has a solid metal core, like a hard-boiled egg, or a molten, liquid metal core, like a soft-centred, raw egg.
5. RISE uses the same principle that causes the sound from a fast-moving siren to change as it moves away, to study Mars' core.

That's a lot of information about instruments that InSight has and I hope you learnt heaps of information about InSight's instruments. If you want to see how the instruments work. There is a 3D view of InSight by NASA named 'Experience InSight'. You can move the camera and more other fun things.

NASA has a press-kit which shows information that I don't have. The press-kit includes the following:

• Introduction
• Media Services
• Quick Facts: Landing Facts
• Quick Facts: Mars at a Glance
• Mission: Overview
• Mission: Spacecraft
• Mission: Science
• Mission: Landing Site
• Program & Project Managment
• Appendix: Mars Cube One Tech Demo
• Appendix: Gallery
• Appendix: Science Objectives, Quantified
• Appendix: Historical Mars Missions
• Appendix: NASA's Discovery Program

The press-kit has heaps and heaps of information, that you might even don't know about.


If you haven't seen the landing of InSight. It had streamed one week ago. Below is a 1 hour, 30-minute live stream video about the landing. It's a long video, right? Below the live stream, there is a video, which is just only 1 minute 38 seconds long.

So before I wrap it up, I will tell what I've learnt and it is a lot of information that I've learnt.

What I've Learnt

• Now there are 46 images taken since the landing.
• The latest image is below from the Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC).
• There are 17 images taken on Sol 10 - 7 December 2018, 12:52:42 PM.
• InSight has three instruments: Seismometer, Heat Probe and Radio Science Experiment.
• InSight's Seismometer, SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure) is a round, dome-shaped instrument that sits on the surface of Mars, which takes the pulse or seismic vibrations of Mars. The measurements provide information about Mars' internal activity.
• The Seismometer waits to sense the marsquakes (mars instead of earth - earthquakes) and seismic waves. 
• SEIS measurements inform scientists about the nature of the material that formed the rocky planets of our Solar System.
• This reveals what is beneath Mars, also, the Seismometer might even inform if there are active volcanoes, liquid water or plumes which are underneath the surface of Mars.
• The main job of the Seismometer is to measure the pulse of Mars, by studying waves created by Marsquakes.
• The SEIS seismometer is so sensitive, it can detect surface movements smaller than a hydrogen atom!?
• The seismometer can sense weather phenomena like, dust storms that produce seismic waves.
• Scientists expect from the seismometer to detect five to ten meteor impacts over the InSight mission.
• The InSight lander delivers the first seismometer to Mars in the first 40 years. The last time seismometers travelled to Mars was with the Viking landers.
• InSight's SEIS seismometer is like a doctor's stethoscope, like a doctor listening to the patient's heartbeat, SEIS listens for marsquakes.
• The SEIS is ultra-sensitive that can tune in to tremors smaller than a hydrogen atom!
• The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe, (HP3).
• Which makes a hole down to almost five meters.
• The HP3 takes Mars' temperature, which reveals how much heat is flowing out of the inside of the planet.
• The mass of HP3 is just over 3 kilograms. 
• The maximum power of the HP3 is about 2 watts while digging underneath the surface.
• HP3 tells scientists how heat flows inside Mars.
• HP3 takes the temperature of the interior of Mars.
• Information from the heat flow reveals if Earth and Mars are formed from the same stuff, also, how active Mars is.
• HP3 package has a probe that digs down up to 5 meters below the surface. That's deeper than previous instruments to any other moon, planet or asteroid, which have only dug up the upper inch of rock or soil.
• HP3 pulls the ribbon-shaped cable behind it, that's jam-packed full of temperature sensors.
• The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), 'tracks the location of the lander to decide just how much Mars' North Pole wobbles as it orbits the sun.'
• This observation will include detailed information about the size of Mars' rich core.
• The main job of RISE is an apostrophe. 
• The location of RISE is two Medium-Gain 'horn' Antennas (MGAs) on InSight's deck.
• The mass is about 7.3 kilograms.
• The antennas are about 1.4 kilograms. 
• RISE tracks the location of InSight lander every day, which also knows its location to within a few centimetres.
• RISE simply sends back the signal sent to the lander from Earth, via the Deep Space Network, revealing InSight's location.
• As the seasons change on Mars, carbon dioxide controls and shortens at the poles, causing tiny changes in the rotation rate of Mars, affecting the length of Mars' day. RISE will be able to measure these changes.
• RISE will help control if Mars has a solid metal core, like a hard-boiled egg, or a molten, liquid metal core, like a soft-centred, raw egg.
• RISE uses the same principle that causes the sound from a fast-moving siren to change as it moves away, to study Mars' core.
• There is a 3D view of InSight by NASA named 'Experience InSight'.
• The press-kit includes the following:
  
  
  • Introduction
  • Media Services
  • Quick Facts: Landing Facts
  • Quick Facts: Mars at a Glance
  • Mission: Overview
  • Mission: Spacecraft
  • Mission: Science
  • Mission: Landing Site
  • Program & Project Managment
  • Appendix: Mars Cube One Tech Demo
  • Appendix: Gallery
  • Appendix: Science Objectives, Quantified
  • Appendix: Historical Mars Missions
  • Appendix: NASA's Discovery Program

  
  

I hope you like my post about the update on InSight Robotic Lander. Comment down below if you've learnt something on my post. Stay tuned to see my posts in the holidays (starts from 17 November) about the Summer Learning Journey 2018-19. Have a cool day!! Bye!!

Touchdown!

NASA's Insight Lander as landed on the surface of Mars. It landed at 9:00 AM, New Zealand Daylight Time (3:00 PM, Eastern Time). Let's know some facts and information about the spacecraft.

• Launch Date: 5 May 2018, 11:05 PM NZST (New Zealand Standard Time)
• Launch Location: Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
• Landing Site: Elysium Planitia, Mars
• Cost: 828.8 million USD
• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin Space Systems
• Contractor: United Launch Alliance
• Insight has launched to study Mars.

Here is an image which shows facts about NASA's InSight.

• There are two goals in the mission 
• To understand how rocky planets have formed and involved and know about the structure:
• The size of the core, what it is made of, if it is liquid or not.
• Thickness and structure of the crust.
• Structure of the mantle and what it is made of.
• How warm the structure is and how much heat is still flowing through.
• How tectonically active Mars is today, how often meteorites impact it. It would measure:
• How often meteorites hit the surface of Mars.
• How powerful and frequent internal seismic activity is on Mars. Where it is located within the structure of Mars.

Some people might be thinking, why Mars? Why is the spacecraft viewing Mars?

Well, spacecraft which have been to Mars have investigated the history of Mars' surface by features like volcanoes, canyons, soil and rock. Comparing other terrestrial (rocky) planets, Mars has been never too big or too small. This could mean that it could have a record of the formation and how terrestrial planets formed. Landers like NASA's InSight can reveal how active Mars is.

InSight Overview | JPL



Landing

NASA's Insight had landed 7 minutes and one second before prediction, 9:52:59 AM (New Zealand Daylight Time), 11:52:59 AM (Pacific Time), 2:52:59 AM (Eastern Time). The mission is going to last for 1 Mars year; 709 sols (the name for 'day' in Mars), that means ~ 2 Earth years; 728 Earth days.

Images

There are three images taken, from the landing.

First image token after landing - Instrument Context Camera (ICC)

Instrument Context Camera (ICC)

Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC)

Below is a video from SciNews about the Landing. Watch the whole video.

Landing Video | SciNews




NASA's InSight landing - Explained? | SciNews




What I've Learnt

• The spacecraft launched on 5 May, 2018, 11:05 PM.
• The spacecraft was launched at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
• The spacecraft's landing location: Elysium Planitia, Mars
• The cost is 828.8 million USD.
• The manufacturer was Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
• The contractor was the United Launch Alliance.
• There are two goals in the mission 
• To understand how rocky planets have formed and involved and know about the structure:
• The size of the core, what it is made of, if it is liquid or not.
• Thickness and structure of the crust.
• Structure of the mantle and what it is made of.
• How warm the structure is and how much heat is still flowing through.
• How tectonically active Mars is today, how often meteorites impact it. It would measure:
• How often meteorites hit the surface of Mars.
• How powerful and frequent internal seismic activity is on Mars. Where it is located within the structure of Mars.
• The spacecraft which have been to Mars have investigated the history of Mars' surface by features like volcanoes, canyons, soil and rock.
• Comparing other terrestrial (rocky) planets, Mars has been never too big or too small.
• This could mean that it could have a record of the formation and how terrestrial planets formed.
• Landers like NASA's InSight can reveal how active Mars is.
• NASA's Insight had landed 7 minutes and one second before prediction, 9:52:59 AM (New Zealand Daylight Time), 11:52:59 AM (Pacific Time), 2:52:59 AM (Eastern Time).
• The mission is going to last for 1 Mars year; 709 sols (the name for 'day' in Mars), that means ~ 2 Earth years; 728 Earth days.

I hope you like the post. Comment down if you have learnt anything new. Have a cool day!! Bye!!