InSight, MarCO-A, MarCO-B - Atlas V 401 - Vandenberg SLC-3E - 05.05.2018 - 11:05 UTC

[Salo]

CNES ‏@CNES  1 ч.1 час назад  
C'est confirmé : @NASAInSight partira écouter le cœur de #Mars en mai 2018 http://bit.ly/2bK61Ol 
 

[Salo]

http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/newsdisplay.cfm?Subsite_News_ID=38537

NASA Approves 2018 Launch of Mars InSight Mission
2 Sep 2016
(Source: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA has set a new launch opportunity, beginning May 5, 2018, for the InSight mission to Mars. InSight is the first mission dedicated to investigating the deep interior of Mars. The findings will advance understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved. This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars after the lander's robotic arm has deployed a seismometer and a heat probe directly onto the ground. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA is moving forward with a spring 2018 launch of its InSight mission to study the deep interior of Mars, following final approval this week by the agency's Science Mission Directorate.
The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission was originally scheduled to launch in March of this year, but NASA suspended launch preparations in December due to a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS).
The new launch period for the mission begins May 5, 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018. The next launch opportunity is driven by orbital dynamics, so 2018 is the soonest the lander can be on its way.   
"Our robotic scientific explorers such as InSight are paving the way toward an ambitious journey to send humans to the Red Planet," said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in Washington. "It's gratifying that we are moving forward with this important mission to help us better understand the origins of Mars and all the rocky planets, including Earth."
The SEIS instrument -- designed to measure ground movements as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom -- requires a perfect vacuum seal around its three main sensors in order to withstand harsh conditions on the Red Planet. Under what's known as the mission "replan," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, will be responsible for redesigning, developing and qualifying the instrument's evacuated container and the electrical feedthroughs that failed previously. France's space agency, the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), will focus on developing and delivering the key sensors for SEIS, integration of the sensors into the container, and the final integration of the instrument onto the spacecraft.
The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is contributing the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) to InSight's science payload.
NASA's budget for InSight was $675 million. The instrument redesign and two-year delay add $153.8 million. The additional cost will not delay or cancel any current missions, though there may be fewer opportunities for new missions in future years, from fiscal years 2017-2020.
InSight's primary goal is to help us understand how rocky planets formed and evolved. Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said, "We've concluded that a replanned InSight mission for launch in 2018 is the best approach to fulfill these long-sought, high-priority science objectives."
CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall added, "This confirmation of the launch plan for InSight is excellent news and an unparalleled opportunity to learn more about the internal structure of the Red Planet, which is currently of major interest to the international science community."
The InSight Project is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/insight-delay-adds-150-million-to-missions-cost/

InSight delay adds $150 million to mission's cost
by Jeff Foust — September 2, 2016

Delaying the launch of NASA's InSight Mars lander and fixing a troublesome instrument will cost the agency more than $150 million, to be taken from future planetary missions. Credit: NASA  
 
WASHINGTON — NASA announced Sept. 2 that it has approved plans to launch a delayed Mars lander mission in 2018, although at an additional cost that could affect plans for later planetary missions.
The InSight Mars lander, originally scheduled for launch in March, will now launch no earlier than May 5, 2018, after NASA's Science Mission Directorate formally approved the revised mission plan this week. That launch will allow a landing on Mars in November 2018.
NASA postponed the launch in December 2015 after a series of problems with one of its primary instruments, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), provided by the French space agency CNES. The instrument suffered a series of vacuum leaks that NASA concluded could not be fixed in time to permit a launch during a window that lasted about a month.
Under the new mission plan, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will take the lead in redesigning the chamber that contains SEIS. That chamber must maintain a very strong vacuum to measure seismic vibrations as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom. CNES will focus on the instrument's sensors and the final integration of the instrument on the spacecraft.
The redesign of SEIS, and other aspects of the mission's two-year delay, will add $153.8 million to InSight's original cost of $675 million. That cost is in line with previous estimates by project management earlier this year, who predicted the delay would cost roughly $150 million.
That additional money will come from plans for later missions. NASA said in its Sept. 2 statement that while no current missions would be affected, "there may be fewer opportunities for new missions in future years, from fiscal years 2017–2020."
David Schurr, deputy director of NASA's planetary science division, said Sept. 2 the additional cost is not covered by project reserves already applied to the mission. "The plan is for planetary science to cover these costs over the next four years," he said.
One area that could be affected is NASA's Discovery program of low-cost planet science missions. NASA selected five proposals for study last year, and has suggested it might choose two of them for development when it makes a final selection late this year. The additional costs of an InSight delay have worried some in the planetary science committee that NASA might be able to afford only one mission.
Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division, has long advocated selecting two missions in the ongoing Discovery competition. "I'm going to do everything humanly possible to make it difficult for the selection official not to pick two," he said at a July 25 meeting of the NASA Advisory Council's science committee in Cleveland.
He added, though, that this choice will depend on the estimated costs of the missions included in their updated studies and the available budget. "My approach is to look at the budget, see what we can support and then fill that budget within our selection opportunity," he said.

[Salo]

https://ria.ru/science/20160905/1476073262.html

НАСА одобрило повторный запуск миссии InSight на Марс в 2018 году
11:28 05.09.2016

МОСКВА, 5 сен – РИА Новости. НАСА официально одобрило планы по повторному запуску посадочного модуля InSight, который отправится к Марсу в мае 2018 года, если французским инженерам удастся изготовить замену поврежденному прибору SEIS в срок, сообщает Лаборатория реактивного движения НАСА.
"Подтверждение того, что НАСА планирует отправить InSight в космос, является отличной новостью для нас и уникальной возможностью больше узнать о секретах недр Марса, что сегодня является одной из главных задач для всего сообщества планетологов в целом", — заявил Жан-Ив Ле-Голль (Jean-Yves Le Gall), президент Национального центра космических исследований Франции (CNES).
В конце ноября прошлого года на форумах любителей космонавтики и в соцсетях стали распространяться слухи о том, что американский аппарат InSight может не полететь на Марс из-за неполадок в работе одного из двух ключевых научных инструментов посадочного модуля – сейсмометра SEIS, изготовленного французскими инженерами и учеными по заказу CNES.
В первых числах декабря стало известно, что эти неполадки являются критическими и что инженеры НАСА и CNES не успеют исправить их до отправки зонда к Марсу, который был запланирован на март 2016 года. Через несколько недель НАСА выступило с официальным заявлением, в котором менеджеры агентства признались в разгерметизации сейсмометра и в переносе миссии на "неопределенный срок".
В начале марта этого года НАСА заявило, что запуск InSight, скорее всего, будет перенесен на май 2018 года, однако 100% подтверждения этого плана не было – руководство НАСА не было уверено в том, сможет ли оно найти новую ракету-носитель для посадочного модуля, и насколько проект выйдет за рамки бюджета. Сейчас все эти проблемы решены, и космическое агентство официально одобрило продолжение миссии.
Май 2018 года в данном случае является "жесткой" датой запуска – даже если французские инженеры и ученые создадут новую версию SEIS раньше срока, InSight не отправится на Марс раньше означенного времени из-за того, что запас топлива в ракете рассчитан на оптимальную траекторию полета к Красной планете.
Если же они не успеют изготовить замену, то миссия будет опять задержана или вообще отменена. Лаборатория реактивного движения, где разрабатывается InSight, уже предложила свою помощь французским разработчикам и пообещала помочь защитить прибор от разгерметизации.

[che wi]

Insight: NASA's Next Mars Mission to Investigate Interior of Red Planet
https://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/newsdisplay.cfm?Subsite_News_ID=38547

[triage]

https://twitter.com/bevvscott/status/912864069366964224
Bev Scott‏ @bevvscott  2 ч2 часа назад
Update on InSight mission: spacecraft assembly completed, now preparing for thermal vacuum tests. Launch on May 5, 2018 from VAFB. #IAC2017

[Pirat5]

НАСА предлагает всем желающим (повторно) отправить свое имя на Марс 
https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/insight/

[che wi]

More Than 2.4 Million Names Are Going to Mars
https://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/newsdisplay.cfm?Subsite_News_ID=38549

[Чебурашка]

Я себя отправил. Мне дали посадочный талон.     
Я пассажир номер  1007419

А оно правда с Ванденберга стартует? Вроде все к Марсу отправляли с Канаверала? 

[zandr]

http://tass.ru/kosmos/4752292

Посадочный модуль InSight прошел ключевой этап подготовки к отправке на Марс

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/Lockheed Martin
ВАШИНГТОН, 23 ноября. /Корр. ТАСС Дмитрий Кирсанов/. Американский посадочный модуль InSight успешно прошел важнейшую фазу подготовки к отправке на Марс. Об этом сообщила в среду в среду корреспонденту ТАСС официальный представитель корпорации Lockheed Martin, создавшей данный космический аппарат, Дэни Хауф.
Как она уточнила, специалисты Национального управления США по аэронавтике и исследованию космического пространства (NASA) и компании Lockheed Martin завершили этап тепловых испытаний модуля в вакууме. Таким образом, "команда Lockheed Martin успешно закончила фазу тестирования [аппарата] на воздействие внешних условий, сходных с эксплуатационными", отметила Хауф. По ее словам, в предстоящие месяцы "будет завершаться подготовка к запуску" модуля InSight, намеченного на май будущего года.
Как пояснила представитель Lockheed Martin, пройден этап "наиболее всеобъемлющих испытаний, которым можно подвергнуть полностью собранный космический аппарат до запуска". В ходе них были подтверждены технические характеристики модуля "в жестких условиях, схожих с открытым космосом", подчеркнула Хауф. Нынешние испытания проходили на объекте компании Lockheed Martin в Литтлтоне (штат Колорадо). А до этого проверялось, в частности, раскрытие солнечных батарей модуля и устойчивость его аппаратуры к электромагнитному воздействию.
Ответственный за тестирование и запуск модуля в компании Lockheed Martin Скотт Дэниелс заявил интернет-изданию Space.com, что тепловые испытания в вакууме продолжались почти две недели. Предполагается, что на базу ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния), с которой аппарат должны вывести в космос, InSight доставят в конце февраля, сказал Дэниелс. 30-дневное "окно" для старта ракеты-носителя Atlas V, которой предстоит отправить модуль в примерно полугодовое путешествие к Красной планете, откроется 5 мая. Намечается, что посадку аппарат произведет 26 ноября 2018 года, после чего проработает на Марсе 728 земных дня.
За счет использования научных приборов, установленных на модуле, NASA рассчитывает получить новую информацию о формировании Марса. Аппарат, к примеру, должен помочь определить размер, состав и состояние ядра Красной планеты, проанализировать толщину коры, выяснить, какова структура мантии. Планируется, что инструменты модуля позволят осуществить бурение на глубину 5 м для получения интересующих ученых данных. Первоначально отправка аппарата должна была состояться в конце 2015 года, но ее перенесли из-за обнаруженной существенной технической неполадки

[tnt22]

Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 17 ч. назад

ARTICLE: Mars InSight mission passes TVAC testing ahead of 2018 launch - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/11/mars-insight-passes-tvac-testing-2018-launch/ ...

Спойлер

[свернуть]

Mars InSight mission passes TVAC testing ahead of 2018 launch

November 22, 2017 by Chris Bergin

[che wi]

NASA's Next Mars Lander Spreads its Solar Wings

NASA's next mission to Mars passed a key test Tuesday, extending the solar arrays that will power the InSight spacecraft once it lands on the Red Planet this November.

The test took place at Lockheed Martin Space just outside of Denver, where InSight was built and has been undergoing testing ahead of its launch. The mission is led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Спойлер

"This is the last time we will see the spacecraft in landed configuration before it arrives at the Red Planet," said Scott Daniels, Lockheed Martin InSight Assembly, Test and Launch Operations (ATLO) Manager. "There are still many steps we have to take before launch, but this is a critical milestone before shipping to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California." The InSight launch window opens in May.

The fan-like solar panels are specially designed for Mars' weak sunlight, caused by the planet's distance from the Sun and its dusty, thin atmosphere. The panels will power InSight for at least one Martian year (two Earth years) for the first mission dedicated to studying Mars' deep interior. InSight's full name is Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

"Think of InSight as Mars' first health checkup in more than 4.5 billion years," said Bruce Banerdt of JPL, the mission's principal investigator. "We'll study its pulse by 'listening' for marsquakes with a seismometer. We'll take its temperature with a heat probe. And we'll check its reflexes with a radio experiment."

[свернуть]

In addition to the solar panel test, engineers added a final touch: a microchip inscribed with more than 1.6 million names submitted by the public. It joins a chip containing almost 827,000 names that was glued to the top of InSight back in 2015, adding up to a total of about 2.4 million names going to Mars. "It's a fun way for the public to feel personally invested in the mission," Banerdt said. "We're happy to have them along for the ride."

The chips were inscribed at JPL's Microdevices Laboratory, which has added names and images to a number of spacecraft, including the Mars Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. Each character on the InSight microchips is just 400 nanometers wide. Compare that to a human hair, 100,000 nanometers wide, or a red blood cell, 8,000 nanometers wide.

[tnt22]

NASA's Mars InSight Lander: Solar Array Deployment Test (Time Lapse)

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Опубликовано: 24 янв. 2018 г.

While in its landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018, in a Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power. This time lapse video of the deployment is courtesy Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3twtYCXxNohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3twtYCXxNo (0:55)

[che wi]

Seven Ways Mars InSight is Different
https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/news/2018/seven-ways-mars-insight-is-different

[KBOB]

Лекция посвященная Insight
http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl2 (22-23 февраля)

[che wi]

NASA InSight Mission to Mars Arrives at Launch Site

NASA's InSight spacecraft has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California to begin final preparations for a launch this May. The spacecraft was shipped from Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, today and arrived at Vandenberg at 3:49 p.m. PST (6:49 p.m. EST). The launch period for InSight opens May 5 and continues through June 8. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring the planet's heat output. It will also be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from the West Coast.

Спойлер

"The Air Force C-17 crew from the 21st Airlift Squadron gave us a great ride," said Tom Hoffman, InSight project manager, from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "Next time InSight travels as high and as fast, it will be about 23 seconds into its launch, on the way to Mars."

At the Astrotech payload processing facility at Vandenberg, InSight will soon be removed from its shipping container -- the first of several remaining milestones to prepare it for launch. Later next week, the spacecraft will begin functional testing to verify its state of health after the flight from Colorado. After that, the team will load updated flight software and perform a series of mission readiness tests. These tests involve the entire spacecraft flight system, the associated science instruments and the ground data system.

"One of the most important activities before launch is to load the spacecraft with the fuel needed for the journey to Mars," said Hoffman. "After fuel loading, the spacecraft will undergo a spin-balance test to determine precisely the center of mass. This knowledge is needed to be sure the entry and descent into the Mars atmosphere goes as planned."

InSight will be carried into space aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V-401 rocket lifting off from Space Launch Complex 3E at Vandenberg Air Force Base. For a May 5 liftoff, the launch window opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 6:05 a.m. PDT (9:05 a.m. EDT).

InSight will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to map the deep interior of Mars. These waves travel through geologic materials at different speeds and reflect off boundaries, giving scientists a glimpse of the composition and structure of the planet's interior. They reflect the initial formation of the planet, and the resulting insights into how Mars formed will help us better understand how other rocky planets are created, including our own Earth.

JPL manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. A number of European partners, includingFrance's Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), are supporting the InSight mission.

[свернуть]

[поц]

May 5Atlas 5 • InSight
Launch window: 1105-1305 GMT (7:05-9:05 a.m. EDT; 4:05-6:05 a.m. PDT)
Launch site: SLC-3E, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
 

[поц]

Spaceflight Now@SpaceflightNow·9 ч

NASA's InSight Mars lander arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California this week after a journey from a Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado. The robotic mission is set blast off May 5 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket.  :!:  InSight's launch window May 5 opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT) and extends for two hours. The mission has until June 8 to launch and reach Mars for an automated landing Nov. 26.

а вот интересно в какой момент снимут этот брезент сверху?

[поц]

Lockheed Martin@LockheedMartin·22 ч

A little noisy in the clean room, but spic and span. Our own Scott Daniels shares how we got the @NASAInSight lander to the launch site. Next stop Mars!

[поц]

ВАШИНГТОН, 5 марта. /Корр. ТАСС Дмитрий Кирсанов/. Функциональные испытания посадочного модуля InSight начинаются на базе ВВС США Ванденберг (штат Калифорния) перед его предстоящей в текущем году отправкой на Марс.
Как сообщила пресс-служба Национального управления США по аэронавтике и исследованию космического пространства (NASA), специалисты приступят к проведению серии этих тестов на текущей неделе. 28 февраля аппарат был доставлен на базу Ванденберг из Денвера (штат Колорадо) на борту военно-транспортного самолета С-17. Модуль доставили с предприятия изготовившей его корпорации Lockheed Martin. 30-дневное "окно" для старта с базы Ванденберг ракеты-носителя Atlas V, которой предстоит отправить модуль в примерно полугодовое путешествие к Марсу, откроется 5 мая.
По свидетельству NASA, по окончании функциональных испытаний будет обновлено программное обеспечение аппарата и начнется последняя череда тестов, в том числе после его заправки топливом. Параллельно будут проходить различные проверки научные инструменты, установленные на борту модуля. Намечается, что посадку аппарат произведет 26 ноября 2018 года, после чего проработает на Марсе 728 земных дней.

Функциональные испытания модуля InSight начинаются в США перед его отправкой на Марс