On Monday, November 26, 2018, the InSight mission successfully landed on the surface of Mars , a pioneering mission that NASA has sent to the red planet with the aim of investigating what is under the surface of Mars and finding out the keys to its formation. early, more than four billion years ago.
The red planet is also the most studied in the Solar System, but the arrival of this new instrument on this great red and dusty rock implies something beyond its orography and climatology (parameters that have been studied by other artefactors, such as the Rover Curiosity); Rather, its mission involves something more in depth: by finding out how Mars was formed, we can also learn how other rocky bodies in the Solar System were formed, including the Earth, the Moon, Mercury or Venus.
The scientists intend for InSight to operate for one year and 40 Martian days, which is equivalent to just under two Earth years, through November 24, 2020.
Mars, the perfect laboratory to study rocky planets
Compared to the other terrestrial planets, Mars is neither too big nor too small. This means that it keeps the record of its formation, and so it can give us an idea of how the terrestrial planets were formed. In fact, NASA describes it as the perfect laboratory to study the formation and evolution of rocky planets . InSight will also measure tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars today.
And although InSight’s objectives are to explore the interior of Mars, it is implicit to find out clues about how humanity could make a possible landing, or even about how to land the red planet. This is, without a doubt, the closest horizon to be conquered by the human foot; Although a manned landing on Mars still seems complicated to carry out on a technical level.
Mars, like Earth, has a core, mantle, and crust. For now, scientists believe that Mars is a kind of floating fossil, and that its geological activity is at a standstill or is very slight . Geological activity, which allows soil materials to be constantly renewed, is a necessary condition to sustain life on its surface (at least this is the case on Earth); And although Mars seems dead, it may be that InSight, in the study of its inner layers, shows us that it does have geological activity and to what extent. This would not only imply that Mars could support life, but it would also allow us to find signs of past life.
Do not miss the images that follow, and that explain in detail what the InSight mission is, what this module consists of and what its mission is.
Image Credit: NASA / JPL
