And the counterspy is back to work ! One of the most peculiar instruments of NASA ’s InSight foreign mission is a digging gadget that will eventually measure the interior temperature of the Red Planet . Nicknamed the mole , the equipment has failed to dig more than 35 centimeters ( 14 inch ) since March . However , the return has ultimately been resolved and the mole is now dig out down .
The literal name of the instrument is the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package ( HP3 ) and it is a ego - hammering heat probe . It is plan to burrow itself up to 5 meters ( 16 foot ) below the Earth’s surface using the friction triggered by the grunge around it as a way to propel itself forward . regrettably , the Earth’s surface grease was escaped than expected and the hammer ricochet , causing the breakwater to just bounce in place .
The instrument was design by the German Aerospace Center ( DLR ) and the squad , working with NASA ’s engineers , spend month planningpotential solutionsto this singular problem . The approach they ’ve experimented with , which so far seems to be working , is very simple . The mole is being kept in place by InSight ’s robotic arm .
Since October 8 , the mole has hammer over 220 times over three separate occasion . It has dug through several centimeters of soil . However , it ’s still former days and the breakwater has a lot more digging to do before it arrive at an operable profundity .
" visualize the mole ’s advance seems to indicate that there ’s no rock blocking our path , " said HP3 Principal Investigator Tilman Spohn of the DLR in astatement . " That ’s great news ! We ’re steady down for our mole to keep going . "
While everyone is certainly glad that the mole is pass on , they are aware that realistically it might break again . The NASA team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory ( JPL ) has come up with some solutions in subject , having dug further , the gram molecule get stuck once again . They might cover the mole in ground to prevent it from recoiling upwards or just use the weapon to keep the mole down .
" The seawall still has a way to go , but we ’re all thrilled to see it fag again , " said the JPL ’s Troy Hudson , an engine driver and scientist who has top the mol recovery elbow grease . " When we first see this trouble , it was crush . But I suppose , ' Maybe there ’s a luck ; countenance ’s keep pressing on . ' And in good order now , I ’m feel giddy . "
