Geology and Physical Properties Investigations by the InSight Lander
- Creators
-
Golombek, M.
- Andrade, J.
-
Marshall, J.
Abstract
Although not the prime focus of the InSight mission, the near-surface geology and physical properties investigations provide critical information for both placing the instruments (seismometer and heat flow probe with mole) on the surface and for understanding the nature of the shallow subsurface and its effect on recorded seismic waves. Two color cameras on the lander will obtain multiple stereo images of the surface and its interaction with the spacecraft. Images will be used to identify the geologic materials and features present, quantify their areal coverage, help determine the basic geologic evolution of the area, and provide ground truth for orbital remote sensing data. A radiometer will measure the hourly temperature of the surface in two spots, which will determine the thermal inertia of the surface materials present and their particle size and/or cohesion. Continuous measurements of wind speed and direction offer a unique opportunity to correlate dust devils and high winds with eolian changes imaged at the surface and to determine the threshold friction wind stress for grain motion on Mars. During the first two weeks after landing, these investigations will support the selection of instrument placement locations that are relatively smooth, flat, free of small rocks and load bearing. Soil mechanics parameters and elastic properties of near surface materials will be determined from mole penetration and thermal conductivity measurements from the surface to 3–5 m depth, the measurement of seismic waves during mole hammering, passive monitoring of seismic waves, and experiments with the arm and scoop of the lander (indentations, scraping and trenching). These investigations will determine and test the presence and mechanical properties of the expected 3–17 m thick fragmented regolith (and underlying fractured material) built up by impact and eolian processes on top of Hesperian lava flows and determine its seismic properties for the seismic investigation of Mars' interior.
Additional Information
© 2018 Springer Nature B.V. Received: 25 January 2018; Accepted: 25 May 2018; First Online: 26 June 2018. A portion of the work was supported by the InSight Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. N. A. Teanby is supported by the UK Space Agency. French authors acknowledge the support by Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and IPGP authors the financial support of the UnivEarthS Labex program at Sorbonne Paris Cite (ANR-10-LABX-0023 and ANR-11-1013 IDEX-0005-02), the French National Research Agency (ANR-12-BS05-001-3/EXO-DUNES and ANR SIMARS), and the Institut Universitaire de France. The work by C. Schmelzbach and J. Robertsson was partly supported by ETH Research Grant ETH-06 17-2. ETH Zurich acknowledges support by Landmark Graphics via the Landmark University Grant Program (Landmark ProMax/SeisSpace software was partly used to process the synthetic HP3-SEIS hammering data). This paper is InSight Contribution Number 40.Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 87854
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11214-018-0512-7
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20180713-152627927
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA)
- Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES)
- ANR-10-LABX-0023
- Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR)
- ANR-11-1013 IDEX-0005-02
- Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR)
- ANR-12-BS05-001-3
- Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR)
- ANR SIMARS
- Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR)
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF)
- ETH-06 17-2
- ETH Zurich
- Landmark University
- Created
-
2018-07-13Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field