InSight's Seismometer Now Has a Cozy Shelter on Mars | NASA

The above image is of seismometer placed on the surface of Mars by NASA’s InSight lander on Dec, 19, 2018. It was necessary to keep the instrument safe from Martian winds and temperatures which fluctuate by 170 degrees Fahrenheit over the course of a Martian day, or sol. Fluctuation in temperature can change the size of metal springs including other parts inside the seismometer, while winds can cause vibration in instrument and add noise to data. To keep safe the instrument from winds and temperatures, InSight lander placed a shield over the instrument. The shield is capable to protect the seismometer from temperatures and winds.

 

"Temperature is one of our biggest bugaboos," said InSight Principal Investigator Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the InSight mission and built the Wind and Thermal Shield. "Think of the shield as putting a cozy over your food on a table. It keeps SEIS from warming up too much during the day or cooling off too much at night. In general, we want to keep the temperature as steady as possible."

 

Source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/insights-seismometer-now-has-a-cozy-shelter-on-mars

 

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