Given the current clime , it is effective to joy at the footling triumph . One of these has arrived all the way from the Red Planet : the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package ( HP3 ) , AKA the " mole " , finally looks like digging into the ground .
The little experiment is a ego - hammering probe designed to dig into the ground by moving up and down . The approaching is fairly simple – the movement shifts the ground around the mole as it moves further into the land . unluckily , the stain around NASA ’s InSight is not like the territory contemplate at other region on Mars . Elsewhere the soil is guts - like , but where the mole is located the flat coat is much harder .
The HP3 is designed to dawn up to 5 meters ( 16 understructure ) below the control surface to measure temperature differences inside the satellite and help scientists empathise how heat flows on Mars . However , the team ’s first attempts to jab with the lander did not come through as the dirt stick together , pushing the breakwater back . Since it needs clash to be able-bodied to move forward , every endeavor to widen the hole made it more unmanageable for the investigation .
In October , having spend the summertime look for a solution , the squad tried to help the mole by set the lander ’s machinelike scoop against its side . The objective was to cater enough backup for the mole to finally be able to dig . This worked for a while but not enough for the breakwater to dig late enough to proceed on its journey by itself .
Faced with no simple solvent , the squad had to think ofa desperate method acting . They used the scoop to halt the back of the mole down and push it into the ground . This was risky as the back of the lander is where the cables and connections are settle . However , the previous update shared on Twitter suggests it is bring and the bulwark is moving downward again , hopefully for the next several weeks .
While you might be lure to recall the approach path was “ if you have a trouble , hit it with a shovel ” , it was more like " mildly nudge it with a pocket until it starts working . "
