[meteorite-list] InSight Mission Team Addressing Vacuum Leak on Key Science Instrument

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4782

Mars Mission Team Addressing Vacuum Leak on Key Science Instrument
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
December 3, 2015

Mission Status Report

A key science instrument that will be carried aboard NASA's Interior Exploration 
Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft 
being prepared for launch in March 2016 is experiencing a leak in the 
vacuum container carrying its main sensors. The sensors are part of an 
instrument called the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), 
which is provided by the French Space Agency (CNES).

The seismometer is the prime science payload that will help answer questions 
about the interior structure and processes within the deep Martian interior. 
The SEIS instrument has three high-sensitivity seismometers enclosed in 
a sealed sphere. The seismometers need to operate in a vacuum in order 
to provide exquisite sensitivity to ground motions as small as the width 
of an atom. After the final sealing of the sphere, a small leak was detected, 
that would have prevented meeting the science requirements once delivered 
to the surface of Mars.

The CNES/JPL team is currently working to repair the leak, prior to instrument 
integration and final environmental tests in France before shipping to 
the United States for installation into the spacecraft and launch.

The InSight lander has completed assembly and testing at Lockheed Martin 
Space Systems in Colorado, and is being prepared to ship to the Vandenberg 
AFB launch site. Installation of the seismometer is planned for early 
January. The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) from Germany 
and the rest of the scientific payload are already installed.

NASA and CNES managers are committed to launching in March and are currently 
assessing the launch period timeline. This will be the first launch on 
the West Coast of a Mars mission and the first project devoted to investigating 
the deep interior of the Red Planet.

The InSight Project is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, 
California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed 
Martin is building and testing the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's 
Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center 
in Huntsville, Alabama.

Media Contact
Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

Dwayne Brown
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov

2015-361