{"id":13491,"date":"2018-11-26T21:28:07","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T13:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/video-jpls-rob-manning-explains-insights-entry-descent-and-landing\/"},"modified":"2018-11-26T21:28:07","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T13:28:07","slug":"video-jpls-rob-manning-explains-insights-entry-descent-and-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/video-jpls-rob-manning-explains-insights-entry-descent-and-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"Video: JPL\u2019s Rob Manning explains InSight\u2019s entry, descent and landing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PDSbUpmRksI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>JPL chief engineer Rob Manning, a veteran of Mars mission teams dating back to Mars Pathfinder more than two decades ago, describes how the InSight spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere and touch down on the red planet.<\/p>\n<p>InSight\u2019s \u201cseven minutes of terror\u201d begin with entry into the Martian atmosphere at a velocity of 12,300 mph (5.5 kilometers per second). Cocooned in a flying saucer-shaped shell, the lander will slow down using aerodynamic friction, building up temperatures on the outer skin of the craft\u2019s heat shield as high as 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius).<\/p>\n<p>A supersonic parachute will then unfurl \u2014 shot out of the top of the entry vehicle like a mortar shell \u2014 at a velocity of around 861 mph (385 meters per second), and at an altitude of approximately 36,400 feet (11,100 meters) above ground level.<\/p>\n<p>Fifteen seconds later, InSight will release its heat shield and extend its three landing legs, each fitted with a trigger sensor to detect touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>But InSight\u2019s parachute is not enough to slow the spacecraft enough for a soft landing. The Martian atmosphere \u2014 less than one percent the thickness of Earth\u2019s \u2014 is far too thin to allow landers to safely reach the surface using parachutes alone.<\/p>\n<p>InSight will next activate a landing radar to measure the spacecraft\u2019s altitude and descent rate, and after about two minutes under the parachute, the probe will release from its backshell at a speed of around 134 mph (60 meters per second) and an altitude of approximately 3,600 feet (1,100 meters).<\/p>\n<p>One second after backshell separation, the lander will begin firing 12 braking rockets to slow its descent velocity and null out horizontal movements. The spacecraft will also rotate to ensure it is in the correct orientation for touchdown, with its solar arrays extending east and west from the deck, and the robotic arm\u2019s work area on the south side of the lander.<\/p>\n<p>Around 164 feet (50 meters) above the surface, InSight will transition to a constant velocity mode. Around 15 seconds later, InSight will reach the surface at a velocity of around 5 mph (2.24 meters per second), and immediately switch off its liquid-fueled thrusters.<\/p>\n<p>InSight\u2019s two fan-shaped solar arrays are programmed to unfurl beginning 16 minutes after touchdown, a critical event that will ensure the lander can recharge its batteries.<\/p>\n<p>Read our landing preview story for details on InSight\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JPL chief engineer Rob Manning, a veteran of Mars mission teams dating back to Mars Pathfinder more than two decades ago, describes how the InSight spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere and touch down on the red planet. InSight\u2019s \u201cseven minutes of terror\u201d begin with entry into the Martian atmosphere at a velocity of 12,300 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[690,1913,1914,242,455,927,1183,472],"class_list":["post-13491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-cnes","tag-discovery-program","tag-dlr","tag-france","tag-germany","tag-insight","tag-jet-propulsion-laboratory","tag-lockheed-martin"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}