Saturday, November 24, 2018

[UPDATE: Soft Touchdown!] Monday Has... MARS, On Tap.


We have talked quite a bit about this thrilling -- and. . . drilling mission, the first of its kind, on the red planet.

For our part, we are very likely to be digging out from a winter storm (first big one of the season) that morning, but our screens will be on NASA-TV:

. . . ."There's a reason engineers call landing on Mars 'seven minutes of terror,'" said Rob Grover, InSight's entry, descent and landing (EDL) lead, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "We can't joystick the landing, so we have to rely on the commands we pre-program into the spacecraft. We've spent years testing our plans, learning from other Mars landings and studying all the conditions Mars can throw at us. And we're going to stay vigilant till InSight settles into its home in the Elysium Planitia region. . . ."

"Landing on Mars is exciting, but scientists are looking forward to the time after InSight lands," said Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters. "Once InSight is settled on the Red Planet and its instruments are deployed, it will start collecting valuable information about the structure of Mars' deep interior — information that will help us understand the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including the one we call home. . . ."


A kid friendly explainer of the mission:



Original video:



Back here on Jasoom, we march onward to Monday, then -- with some of our grown kids already returning to their homes, across the country, now. And virtual visits from dear friends. . . . Smile.

नमस्ते

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