The HP3 Instrument Package for the InSight Mission: A Tool to Explore the first few Meters of the Martian Interior.
Abstract
The Heat Flow and Physical Poperties Package HP3 will deploy a self-burrowing probe to a depth of up to 5 m, deep enough to reach beyond the temperature waves from diurnal and annual perturbations. This will be the first instrument to reach such a depth on Mars. The probe - nicknamed the mole - will carry a tether to depth equipped with temperature sensors to measure the temperature gradient and houses a set of self-heated sensors to measure the thermal conductivity at depth at 50 cm intervals. It further includes a tiltmeter to measure the attitude upon penetration. From the temperature gradient and the thermal conductivity, the planetary heat flow will be calculated. The probe is propelled forward by a hammering mechanism that uses the energy stored in a spring. The spring is compressed by a motor and a cam and roller. Alternative mechanisms considered by the team are based on electromagnetic forces to compress the spring such as used for the MUPUS penetrator on Rosetta/Philae (Spohn et al. 2015). Through the rate of advancement of the probe, the mechanical properties of the regolith can be characterized. While tuned to measure the heat flow for InSight, the concept of the package is more general and the probe can carry alternative sensors to depth. The HP3 team has considered permittivity probes, small mass spectrometers and borehole cameras as possible payloads that could be housed in a payload compartment.
Spohn et al. (2015), Science, http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aab0464- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.P24D..01S
- Keywords:
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- 0456 Life in extreme environments;
- BIOGEOSCIENCESDE: 0758 Remote sensing;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 1829 Groundwater hydrology;
- HYDROLOGYDE: 6225 Mars;
- PLANETARY SCIENCES: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS