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A three-legged, one-armed geologist:


beecee

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https://phys.org/news/2018-11-mars-visitor-years-legged-geologist.html

Mars is about to get its first U.S. visitor in years: a three-legged, one-armed geologist to dig deep and listen for quakes.

NASA's InSight makes its grand entrance through the rose-tinted Martian skies on Monday, after a six-month, 300 million-mile (480 million-kilometer) journey. It will be the first American spacecraft to land since the Curiosity rover in 2012 and the first dedicated to exploring underground.

NASA is going with a tried-and-true method to get this mechanical miner to the surface of the red planet. Engine firings will slow its final descent and the spacecraft will plop down on its rigid legs, mimicking the landings of earlier successful missions.

That's where old school ends on this $1 billion U.S.-European effort .



Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-11-mars-visitor-years-legged-geologist.html#jCp

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This probe will then obviously conduct experiments consisting of...[1] Self removal of two science experiments from the probe directly on the Martian surface: A first: [2] One of those experiments will drill 5 meters into the Martian surface with built in heat sensors to gauge internal temperatures: Another first: [3] measure any signs of Martian quakes: [4] Measure any planetary wobble.  All in all grand stuff!

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