The InSight Mission to Mars

Sue Smrekar, Deputy PI, JPL Bruce Banerdt, PI, JPL

8th Mars Conference, 18 July, 2014

InSight: Into the History and Evolution of our Solar System 1

International Science Team

PI: Bruce Banerdt, JPL

Dep. PI: Sue Smrekar, JPL

Sami Asmar, JPL

Don Banfield, Cornell

Bill Folkner, JPL

Matt Golombek, JPL

Troy Hudson, JPL

Justin Maki, JPL

Paul Morgan, Colo. Geol. Surv.

Mark Panning, Univ. Florida

Tim van Zoest, DLR

Jeroen Tromp, Princeton

Renée Weber, MSFC

Ulrich Christensen, MPS

Walter Goetz, MPS

Matthias Grott, DLR

Tilman Spohn, DLR

Lapo Boschi, ETH

Domenico Giardini, ETH

Véronique Dehant, ROB

Catherine Johnson, UBC

Philippe Lognonné, IPGP

David Mimoun, SUPAERO

Antoine Mocquet, Univ. Nantes

Mark Wieczorek, IPGP

Günter Kargl, IWF

Naoki Kobayashi, JAXA

Tom Pike, Imperial College

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Science Objectives

InSight will place a single geophysical lander (seismology, heat flow, planetary rotation) on Mars to study the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets.

• Understand formation/evolution of terrestrial planets through investigation of the interior structure and processes of Mars – Determine the size, composition, physical state (liquid/solid) of the core. – Determine the thickness and structure of the crust. – Determine the composition and structure of the mantle. – Determine the thermal state of the interior. • Determine the present level of tectonic activity and meteorite impact rate on Mars – Measure the magnitude, rate and geographical distribution of internal seismic activity. – Measure the rate of meteorite impacts on the surface.

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How Does a Terrestrial Planet Form?

• The planet starts forming through accretion of meteoric material. • As it get bigger, the interior begins to heat up and melt. • Stuff happens… InSight! • End up with a crust, mantle and core with distinct, non-meteoric compositions.

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Differentiation in a Terrestrial Planet

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Lunar Magma Ocean Model

z

• Our understanding of planetary differentiation is largely based on the lunar magma ocean model, which was developed in response to Apollo geochemical and geophysical data. But… • This is a complex process; the physics is not well understood and present

constraints are limited. • Lunar P-T conditions are not particularly representative of other terrestrial

planets.

InSight: Into the History and Evolution of our Solar System

PSRD Graphic

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Signature Planet Formation

The basic structural building blocks of Mars reveal the signature of terrestrial planet formation • Crust thickness/layering

• Core size, density, liquid/solid (inner core?)

• Mantle density/layering

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Direct Link between InSight Objectives & Level 1 Requirements

7

Crust: Its thickness and vertical structure (layering of different compositions) reflects the depth and crystallization processes of the magma ocean and the early post-differentiation evolution of the planet (plate tectonics vs. crustal foundering vs. immobile crust vs. …). Mantle: Its behavior (e.g., convection, partial melt generation) determines the manifestation of the thermal history on a planet’s surface; depends on its thermal structure and stratification. Core: Its size and composition (density) reflect conditions of accretion and early differentiation; its state (liquid vs. solid) reflects its composition and the thermal history of the planet.

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What Do We Know About the Interior of Mars?

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InSight Capability

±5 km

resolve 5-km layers

±0.13 km/s

positive determination

±75 km

±0.3 gm/cc

±3 mW/m2

factor of 10

locations ≤10 deg.

factor of 2

Measurement Current Uncertainty

Crustal thickness 65±35 km (inferred)

Crustal layering no information

Mantle velocity 8±1 km/s (inferred)

Core liquid or solid “likely” liquid

Core radius 1700±300 km

Core density 6.4±1.0 gm/cc

Heat flow 30±25 mW/m2 (inferred)

Seismic activity factor of 100 (inferred)

Seismic distribution no information

Meteorite impact rate factor of 6

Improvement

7X

New

7.5X

New

4X

3X

8X

10X

New

3X

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Single-Station Seismology – Extremely sensitive, broad-band instrument – Surface installation and effective environmental isolation – Advances in single-station seismic analysis – Multiple signal sources Precision Tracking – Sub-decimeter (~2 cm) X-band tracking Heat Flow – Innovative, self-penetrating mole penetrates to a depth of 3–5 meters

Focused Set of Measurements

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InSight Payload

IDA – Instrument Deployment Arm

IDC – Instrument Deployment Camera ICC – Instrument Context Camera

RISE (S/C Telecom) Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment

SEIS (CNES) Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure

Mole • Hammering mechanism • Active thermal conductivity

measurements • Static tilt sensors

Small Deep Space Transponder

APSS (JPL) Auxiliary Payload

Sensor Suite

(also IPGP, ETH/SSA, MPS/DLR, IC/Oxford/UKSA, JPL/NASA)

IFG (UCLA) InSight Fluxgate

TWINS (CAB) – Temp. and Wind for INSight

Pressure Sensor (Tavis)

Support Structure

Scientific Tether • Embedded temperature

sensors for thermal gradient measurements

Tether Length Monitor

WTS, RWEB (Wind & Thermal Shield, Remote Warm Elect. Encl.)

Ebox – Electronics Box THR – Tether

VBB, SP, LVL – Very-Broad-Band & Short-Period sensors, Leveling System) Radiometer

Back End Electronics

IDS (JPL) Instrument Deployment System

HP3 (DLR) Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package

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SEIS Hardware

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RWEB Thermal Test

Ebox Eng. Model

Tether Eng. Model

WTS Deployment Testing LVL Eng. Model

SP EM Sensor and Electronics

VBB 6 DCS Gain

VBB 6 Pivot cabling

VBB Qual. Model

Instrument Deployment

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Video planned to be placed on youtube in the future.

Precision Radio Tracking – RISE • First measured constraint on Mars

core size came from combining radio Doppler measurements from Viking and Mars Pathfinder, which determined spin axis directions 20 years apart – Difference of spin axis direction gives

precession rate and hence planet’s moment of inertia (constrains mean mantle density, core radius and density)

• InSight will provide another snapshot of the axis 20 years later still

• With 2 years of tracking data, it will be possible to determine nutation amplitudes – Free core nutation constrains core MOI

directly, allowing separation of radius and density.

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Precession (165,000 yr)

Nutation (≤1 Mars yr) InSight: Into the History and Evolution of our Solar System

Phobos Tide

Mar

s Exp

ress

/DLR

/ESA

Body Waves

Surface Waves

Normal Modes

Expected Range

Rate of Seismic Activity

Martian Seismology – Multiple Signal Sources

Atmospheric Excitation

HiRISE Image TRA_000823_1720

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

InSight Landing Area

Daubar et al., 2013

Meteorite Impacts

Faulting

1 km

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Heat Flow Measurement – HP3

• The HP3 (Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package) mole will burrow 3 to 5 meters below the surface trailing an instrumented tether. – Precise temperature sensors every 35 cm will measure the temperature

gradient of the subsurface. – The thermal conductivity will be determined every 50 cm by analyzing the

decay of a heat pulse.

InSight landing site

Surface Heat Flow Model (mW/m2)

• Together, gradient and conductivity yield the rate of heat flowing from the interior.

• Present-day heat flow at a single location will provide a critical boundary condition on models of planetary thermal history. Surface Heat Flow Model (mW/m2)

Grott and Breuer, 2010. Smrekar, 8th Mars Conference InSight: Into the History and Evolution of our Solar System 14

Landing Site Selection Status

Gale Crater

Cerberus Fossae

Elysium Mons

Utopia Planitia

Isidis Planitia

Gusev Crater

InSight Landing Region

Spirit

Curiosity

Hellas Basin

Viking 2

Beagle 2

Ellipse Lon. Lat. E05 138.2 3.3 E08 137.3 4.1 E09 136.0 4.4 E17 135.1 4.3

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Council of Terrains

• Produce Data Products for Landing Simulations • JPL Project Chairs – Matt Golombek, Devin Kipp

– HiRISE DEMs – Randy Kirk, USGS Flagstaff – CTX DEMs - Randy Kirk, USGS Flagstaff – HRSC DEMs – Klaus Gwinner, DLR – Photoclinometry Slope Maps – Ross Beyer, SETI – Rock Maps & SFD – Andres Huertas, JPL – Radar Surface Analysis & Sharad/TI Subsurface Analysis –

Putzig (SwRI), Phillips, Campbell – Thermophysical Properties – Sylvain Piqueux, JPL

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Council of Atmospheres

• Produce Data Products for Landing Simulations • JPL Project Chairs – David Kass, Michael Mischna • GCM/Mesoscale Modeling

– Dan Tyler, Jeff Barnes, Oregon State University – Scot Rafkin, Cecelia Leung, SwRI – Francois Forget, Ehouarn Millour, Tanguy Bertrand, Aymeric

Spiga, LMD • Dust Event Analysis

– Huiqun Wang, SAO

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InSight Schedule

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• Landing Site Process – 2nd Workshop, Summer/Fall 2014 • Selection of 2-3 ellipses Fall 2014 – Selection: Fall 2015

• Participating Scientists Program expected

• Launch: March 4-24, 2016 from Vandenberg AFB

• Landing: September 28, 2016 • 67-sol deployment phase • Two years (one Mars year)

science operations on the surface; repetitive operations

• Nominal end-of-mission: October 6, 2018

InSight: Into the History and Evolution of our Solar System

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Thanks More at the 9th Mars Conference..

The InSight Mission to MarsInternational Science TeamSlide Number 3Slide Number 4Differentiation in a Terrestrial PlanetSlide Number 6Slide Number 7What Do We Know About the Interior of Mars?Slide Number 9InSight PayloadSEIS HardwareInstrument DeploymentPrecision Radio Tracking – RISEMartian Seismology – Multiple Signal SourcesHeat Flow Measurement – HP3Landing Site Selection StatusCouncil of TerrainsCouncil of AtmospheresInSight ScheduleSlide Number 20