Future of InSight’s heat probe dim
Blocked after drilling down only one foot instead of fifteen, engineers are increasingly worried that they will not be able to get InSight’s heat probe past whatever is blocking to so it can begin getting data of Mars’s inner thermal environment.
They are considering a bunch of options, including using InSight’s robot arm to either give the probe a nudge to help it get past the obstruction, or even use the arm to push the probe.
None of the options are encouraging it seems.
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Blocked after drilling down only one foot instead of fifteen, engineers are increasingly worried that they will not be able to get InSight’s heat probe past whatever is blocking to so it can begin getting data of Mars’s inner thermal environment.
They are considering a bunch of options, including using InSight’s robot arm to either give the probe a nudge to help it get past the obstruction, or even use the arm to push the probe.
None of the options are encouraging it seems.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
The Apollo missions showed how difficult drilling in situ can be. I thought from the first I read of this mission, with no roving capabilities, blind drilling is going to need some pure luck. Nasa/JPL really seemed to pitch this part of the mission as a piece of cake…
Agree. Chances of success must have been 50/50 at best. The amount of rock under the surface must be all encompassing
So…they seriously thought they could go down 15 feet, without encountering a single glitch? I’d like to see the statistical analysis that was made (or not) of this eventuality. Somebody thought it was a great idea and signed off on it, time for them to become famous.
What is Plan “B” and Plan “C”?
Armageddon–
“You guys are NASA” scene
https://youtu.be/_B7MzBmjaJ8
0:32
Hunt for Red October
–the relevant clip-
https://youtu.be/YULytWUaKR0
0:23
How do we know that there isn’t just a solid layer of bedrock under a thin layer of soil?
To bad they can’t just pull it back up and move it over a foot.
I agree with all of the above…. The most we have checked out Martian soil is a few centimetres… And there is bedrock poking out everywhere…. I presumed this little mole probe would have rock breaking capabilities….
Has the probe hit bedrock?
If a pebble can wreck the mission, someone should be held accountable for such a stupid oversight…
Mars2020 will have a Ground Penetrating Radar. Perhaps useful before digging around I guess.
Wayne, that Armageddon link you sent should be daily required viewing for anyone in the USG space biz, Tx!