What happens to Insight's parachute?











up vote
13
down vote

favorite












All of the animations I see show the heat shield detaching and falling to the ground, then Insight detaching and landing. There is no information about what happens with the upper part of the heat shield and the parachute. What if it lands on Insight?










share|improve this question









New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 1




    It will open in a few minutes 🤞 - watch NASA Live.
    – Rob
    Nov 26 at 19:50















up vote
13
down vote

favorite












All of the animations I see show the heat shield detaching and falling to the ground, then Insight detaching and landing. There is no information about what happens with the upper part of the heat shield and the parachute. What if it lands on Insight?










share|improve this question









New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 1




    It will open in a few minutes 🤞 - watch NASA Live.
    – Rob
    Nov 26 at 19:50













up vote
13
down vote

favorite









up vote
13
down vote

favorite











All of the animations I see show the heat shield detaching and falling to the ground, then Insight detaching and landing. There is no information about what happens with the upper part of the heat shield and the parachute. What if it lands on Insight?










share|improve this question









New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











All of the animations I see show the heat shield detaching and falling to the ground, then Insight detaching and landing. There is no information about what happens with the upper part of the heat shield and the parachute. What if it lands on Insight?







mars nasa insight parachute entry-descent-landing






share|improve this question









New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Nov 26 at 13:08









PearsonArtPhoto

78.8k16223431




78.8k16223431






New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked Nov 26 at 12:49









anonymous

684




684




New contributor




anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






anonymous is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 1




    It will open in a few minutes 🤞 - watch NASA Live.
    – Rob
    Nov 26 at 19:50














  • 1




    It will open in a few minutes 🤞 - watch NASA Live.
    – Rob
    Nov 26 at 19:50








1




1




It will open in a few minutes 🤞 - watch NASA Live.
– Rob
Nov 26 at 19:50




It will open in a few minutes 🤞 - watch NASA Live.
– Rob
Nov 26 at 19:50










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
12
down vote



accepted










I'm pretty sure it will be like the Phoenix lander. Collectively that part of the lander is referred to as the "Backshell". This is the image of Phoenix of the hardware on the surface.



enter image description here



This is mentioned in the official timeline.




Powered Descent - Once the lander separates from its backshell and parachute, 12 descent engines on the lander begin firing and the onboard guidance software slows down the spacecraft until touchdown.







share|improve this answer





















  • Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
    – chris
    7 hours ago






  • 1




    The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
    – Hobbes
    6 hours ago


















up vote
11
down vote













During the parachute descent, InSight's trajectory is at an angle to the vertical. After the backshell and parachute separate, the engines fire, leveling the craft. This allows some horizontal separation between the parachute and the craft:




11:52 a.m. PST (2:52 p.m. EST) — Activation of the radar that will sense the distance to the ground



11:53 a.m. PST (2:53 p.m. EST) — First acquisition of the radar signal



20 seconds later — Separation from the back shell and parachute



0.5 second later — The retrorockets, or descent engines, begin firing



2.5 seconds later — Start of the "gravity turn" to get the lander into the proper orientation for landing



22 seconds later — InSight begins slowing to a constant velocity (from 17 mph to a constant 5 mph, or from 27 kph to 8 kph) for its soft landing



11:54 a.m. PST (2:54 p.m. EST) — Expected touchdown on the surface of Mars



12:01 p.m. PST (3:01 p.m. EST) — "Beep" from InSight's X-band radio directly back to Earth, indicating InSight is alive and functioning on the surface of Mars



https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8390/nasa-insight-landing-on-mars-milestones/




Also of note:




InSight controllers have been receiving daily weather updates of the Elysium Planitia landing site from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – allowing controllers the chance to upload last-minute tweaks to the timing of InSight’s parachute deployment and activation of its landing radar system to account for landing-day weather characteristics.



Of note, InSight was also designed to be able to land during a Martian dust storm – something it will not be required to do Monday but was nonetheless baked into the craft’s design given that, once launched, the science platform’s landing date and time were fixed and could not be postponed.



https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/nasa-mars-fleet-insight-landing-red-planet/







share|improve this answer




























    up vote
    1
    down vote













    An explanation of the landing and a comparison with Phoenix is available at NASA's Insight Entry, Descent and Landing webpage, but it doesn't answer your question as clearly as NASA's LiveStream video of Insight's landing at 13:18.



    At an altitude of one mile the lander falls away from the back-shell and lights it's engines, then it rotates away so the back-shell doesn't come down and hit it.



    The failed landing of the ESA Schiaparelli is shown on the JPL webpage: "PIA21131: Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars - "the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour)".



    Despite coming in far too quickly there is excellent separation between the pieces as shown in this photo (click to zoom):



    Schiaparelli crash site




    "At lower left is the parachute, adjacent to the back shell, which was its attachment point on the spacecraft. The parachute is much brighter than the Martian surface in this region. The smaller circular feature just south of the bright parachute is about the same size and shape as the back shell, (diameter of 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters).



    At upper right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located about where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots may be part of the heat shield, such as insulation material, or gleaming reflections of the afternoon sunlight.".




    A later photo taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed shows: "Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars, in Color".



    Since the Insight lander was able to send back a test photo I conclude that the heat shield did not strike it and it wasn't covered by the parachute. A photo of the landing site from HiRes may be forthcoming.






    share|improve this answer





















      Your Answer





      StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
      return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
      StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
      StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
      });
      });
      }, "mathjax-editing");

      StackExchange.ready(function() {
      var channelOptions = {
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "508"
      };
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
      createEditor();
      });
      }
      else {
      createEditor();
      }
      });

      function createEditor() {
      StackExchange.prepareEditor({
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader: {
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      },
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      });


      }
      });






      anonymous is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function () {
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f32292%2fwhat-happens-to-insights-parachute%23new-answer', 'question_page');
      }
      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes








      3 Answers
      3






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes








      up vote
      12
      down vote



      accepted










      I'm pretty sure it will be like the Phoenix lander. Collectively that part of the lander is referred to as the "Backshell". This is the image of Phoenix of the hardware on the surface.



      enter image description here



      This is mentioned in the official timeline.




      Powered Descent - Once the lander separates from its backshell and parachute, 12 descent engines on the lander begin firing and the onboard guidance software slows down the spacecraft until touchdown.







      share|improve this answer





















      • Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
        – chris
        7 hours ago






      • 1




        The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
        – Hobbes
        6 hours ago















      up vote
      12
      down vote



      accepted










      I'm pretty sure it will be like the Phoenix lander. Collectively that part of the lander is referred to as the "Backshell". This is the image of Phoenix of the hardware on the surface.



      enter image description here



      This is mentioned in the official timeline.




      Powered Descent - Once the lander separates from its backshell and parachute, 12 descent engines on the lander begin firing and the onboard guidance software slows down the spacecraft until touchdown.







      share|improve this answer





















      • Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
        – chris
        7 hours ago






      • 1




        The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
        – Hobbes
        6 hours ago













      up vote
      12
      down vote



      accepted







      up vote
      12
      down vote



      accepted






      I'm pretty sure it will be like the Phoenix lander. Collectively that part of the lander is referred to as the "Backshell". This is the image of Phoenix of the hardware on the surface.



      enter image description here



      This is mentioned in the official timeline.




      Powered Descent - Once the lander separates from its backshell and parachute, 12 descent engines on the lander begin firing and the onboard guidance software slows down the spacecraft until touchdown.







      share|improve this answer












      I'm pretty sure it will be like the Phoenix lander. Collectively that part of the lander is referred to as the "Backshell". This is the image of Phoenix of the hardware on the surface.



      enter image description here



      This is mentioned in the official timeline.




      Powered Descent - Once the lander separates from its backshell and parachute, 12 descent engines on the lander begin firing and the onboard guidance software slows down the spacecraft until touchdown.








      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered Nov 26 at 13:07









      PearsonArtPhoto

      78.8k16223431




      78.8k16223431












      • Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
        – chris
        7 hours ago






      • 1




        The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
        – Hobbes
        6 hours ago


















      • Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
        – chris
        7 hours ago






      • 1




        The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
        – Hobbes
        6 hours ago
















      Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
      – chris
      7 hours ago




      Show us the parachute after Insight landed....otherwise I for one would not be convinced.
      – chris
      7 hours ago




      1




      1




      The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
      – Hobbes
      6 hours ago




      The images we have so far, show that the parachute is not on top of InSight. Images from orbit will have to wait for the next HiRISE pass. InSight is similar to Phoenix, so the result will be similar to the photos shown in PearsonArtPhoto's answer.
      – Hobbes
      6 hours ago










      up vote
      11
      down vote













      During the parachute descent, InSight's trajectory is at an angle to the vertical. After the backshell and parachute separate, the engines fire, leveling the craft. This allows some horizontal separation between the parachute and the craft:




      11:52 a.m. PST (2:52 p.m. EST) — Activation of the radar that will sense the distance to the ground



      11:53 a.m. PST (2:53 p.m. EST) — First acquisition of the radar signal



      20 seconds later — Separation from the back shell and parachute



      0.5 second later — The retrorockets, or descent engines, begin firing



      2.5 seconds later — Start of the "gravity turn" to get the lander into the proper orientation for landing



      22 seconds later — InSight begins slowing to a constant velocity (from 17 mph to a constant 5 mph, or from 27 kph to 8 kph) for its soft landing



      11:54 a.m. PST (2:54 p.m. EST) — Expected touchdown on the surface of Mars



      12:01 p.m. PST (3:01 p.m. EST) — "Beep" from InSight's X-band radio directly back to Earth, indicating InSight is alive and functioning on the surface of Mars



      https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8390/nasa-insight-landing-on-mars-milestones/




      Also of note:




      InSight controllers have been receiving daily weather updates of the Elysium Planitia landing site from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – allowing controllers the chance to upload last-minute tweaks to the timing of InSight’s parachute deployment and activation of its landing radar system to account for landing-day weather characteristics.



      Of note, InSight was also designed to be able to land during a Martian dust storm – something it will not be required to do Monday but was nonetheless baked into the craft’s design given that, once launched, the science platform’s landing date and time were fixed and could not be postponed.



      https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/nasa-mars-fleet-insight-landing-red-planet/







      share|improve this answer

























        up vote
        11
        down vote













        During the parachute descent, InSight's trajectory is at an angle to the vertical. After the backshell and parachute separate, the engines fire, leveling the craft. This allows some horizontal separation between the parachute and the craft:




        11:52 a.m. PST (2:52 p.m. EST) — Activation of the radar that will sense the distance to the ground



        11:53 a.m. PST (2:53 p.m. EST) — First acquisition of the radar signal



        20 seconds later — Separation from the back shell and parachute



        0.5 second later — The retrorockets, or descent engines, begin firing



        2.5 seconds later — Start of the "gravity turn" to get the lander into the proper orientation for landing



        22 seconds later — InSight begins slowing to a constant velocity (from 17 mph to a constant 5 mph, or from 27 kph to 8 kph) for its soft landing



        11:54 a.m. PST (2:54 p.m. EST) — Expected touchdown on the surface of Mars



        12:01 p.m. PST (3:01 p.m. EST) — "Beep" from InSight's X-band radio directly back to Earth, indicating InSight is alive and functioning on the surface of Mars



        https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8390/nasa-insight-landing-on-mars-milestones/




        Also of note:




        InSight controllers have been receiving daily weather updates of the Elysium Planitia landing site from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – allowing controllers the chance to upload last-minute tweaks to the timing of InSight’s parachute deployment and activation of its landing radar system to account for landing-day weather characteristics.



        Of note, InSight was also designed to be able to land during a Martian dust storm – something it will not be required to do Monday but was nonetheless baked into the craft’s design given that, once launched, the science platform’s landing date and time were fixed and could not be postponed.



        https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/nasa-mars-fleet-insight-landing-red-planet/







        share|improve this answer























          up vote
          11
          down vote










          up vote
          11
          down vote









          During the parachute descent, InSight's trajectory is at an angle to the vertical. After the backshell and parachute separate, the engines fire, leveling the craft. This allows some horizontal separation between the parachute and the craft:




          11:52 a.m. PST (2:52 p.m. EST) — Activation of the radar that will sense the distance to the ground



          11:53 a.m. PST (2:53 p.m. EST) — First acquisition of the radar signal



          20 seconds later — Separation from the back shell and parachute



          0.5 second later — The retrorockets, or descent engines, begin firing



          2.5 seconds later — Start of the "gravity turn" to get the lander into the proper orientation for landing



          22 seconds later — InSight begins slowing to a constant velocity (from 17 mph to a constant 5 mph, or from 27 kph to 8 kph) for its soft landing



          11:54 a.m. PST (2:54 p.m. EST) — Expected touchdown on the surface of Mars



          12:01 p.m. PST (3:01 p.m. EST) — "Beep" from InSight's X-band radio directly back to Earth, indicating InSight is alive and functioning on the surface of Mars



          https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8390/nasa-insight-landing-on-mars-milestones/




          Also of note:




          InSight controllers have been receiving daily weather updates of the Elysium Planitia landing site from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – allowing controllers the chance to upload last-minute tweaks to the timing of InSight’s parachute deployment and activation of its landing radar system to account for landing-day weather characteristics.



          Of note, InSight was also designed to be able to land during a Martian dust storm – something it will not be required to do Monday but was nonetheless baked into the craft’s design given that, once launched, the science platform’s landing date and time were fixed and could not be postponed.



          https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/nasa-mars-fleet-insight-landing-red-planet/







          share|improve this answer












          During the parachute descent, InSight's trajectory is at an angle to the vertical. After the backshell and parachute separate, the engines fire, leveling the craft. This allows some horizontal separation between the parachute and the craft:




          11:52 a.m. PST (2:52 p.m. EST) — Activation of the radar that will sense the distance to the ground



          11:53 a.m. PST (2:53 p.m. EST) — First acquisition of the radar signal



          20 seconds later — Separation from the back shell and parachute



          0.5 second later — The retrorockets, or descent engines, begin firing



          2.5 seconds later — Start of the "gravity turn" to get the lander into the proper orientation for landing



          22 seconds later — InSight begins slowing to a constant velocity (from 17 mph to a constant 5 mph, or from 27 kph to 8 kph) for its soft landing



          11:54 a.m. PST (2:54 p.m. EST) — Expected touchdown on the surface of Mars



          12:01 p.m. PST (3:01 p.m. EST) — "Beep" from InSight's X-band radio directly back to Earth, indicating InSight is alive and functioning on the surface of Mars



          https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8390/nasa-insight-landing-on-mars-milestones/




          Also of note:




          InSight controllers have been receiving daily weather updates of the Elysium Planitia landing site from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – allowing controllers the chance to upload last-minute tweaks to the timing of InSight’s parachute deployment and activation of its landing radar system to account for landing-day weather characteristics.



          Of note, InSight was also designed to be able to land during a Martian dust storm – something it will not be required to do Monday but was nonetheless baked into the craft’s design given that, once launched, the science platform’s landing date and time were fixed and could not be postponed.



          https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/11/nasa-mars-fleet-insight-landing-red-planet/








          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Nov 26 at 13:58









          Dr Sheldon

          3,7511342




          3,7511342






















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              An explanation of the landing and a comparison with Phoenix is available at NASA's Insight Entry, Descent and Landing webpage, but it doesn't answer your question as clearly as NASA's LiveStream video of Insight's landing at 13:18.



              At an altitude of one mile the lander falls away from the back-shell and lights it's engines, then it rotates away so the back-shell doesn't come down and hit it.



              The failed landing of the ESA Schiaparelli is shown on the JPL webpage: "PIA21131: Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars - "the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour)".



              Despite coming in far too quickly there is excellent separation between the pieces as shown in this photo (click to zoom):



              Schiaparelli crash site




              "At lower left is the parachute, adjacent to the back shell, which was its attachment point on the spacecraft. The parachute is much brighter than the Martian surface in this region. The smaller circular feature just south of the bright parachute is about the same size and shape as the back shell, (diameter of 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters).



              At upper right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located about where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots may be part of the heat shield, such as insulation material, or gleaming reflections of the afternoon sunlight.".




              A later photo taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed shows: "Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars, in Color".



              Since the Insight lander was able to send back a test photo I conclude that the heat shield did not strike it and it wasn't covered by the parachute. A photo of the landing site from HiRes may be forthcoming.






              share|improve this answer

























                up vote
                1
                down vote













                An explanation of the landing and a comparison with Phoenix is available at NASA's Insight Entry, Descent and Landing webpage, but it doesn't answer your question as clearly as NASA's LiveStream video of Insight's landing at 13:18.



                At an altitude of one mile the lander falls away from the back-shell and lights it's engines, then it rotates away so the back-shell doesn't come down and hit it.



                The failed landing of the ESA Schiaparelli is shown on the JPL webpage: "PIA21131: Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars - "the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour)".



                Despite coming in far too quickly there is excellent separation between the pieces as shown in this photo (click to zoom):



                Schiaparelli crash site




                "At lower left is the parachute, adjacent to the back shell, which was its attachment point on the spacecraft. The parachute is much brighter than the Martian surface in this region. The smaller circular feature just south of the bright parachute is about the same size and shape as the back shell, (diameter of 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters).



                At upper right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located about where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots may be part of the heat shield, such as insulation material, or gleaming reflections of the afternoon sunlight.".




                A later photo taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed shows: "Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars, in Color".



                Since the Insight lander was able to send back a test photo I conclude that the heat shield did not strike it and it wasn't covered by the parachute. A photo of the landing site from HiRes may be forthcoming.






                share|improve this answer























                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote










                  up vote
                  1
                  down vote









                  An explanation of the landing and a comparison with Phoenix is available at NASA's Insight Entry, Descent and Landing webpage, but it doesn't answer your question as clearly as NASA's LiveStream video of Insight's landing at 13:18.



                  At an altitude of one mile the lander falls away from the back-shell and lights it's engines, then it rotates away so the back-shell doesn't come down and hit it.



                  The failed landing of the ESA Schiaparelli is shown on the JPL webpage: "PIA21131: Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars - "the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour)".



                  Despite coming in far too quickly there is excellent separation between the pieces as shown in this photo (click to zoom):



                  Schiaparelli crash site




                  "At lower left is the parachute, adjacent to the back shell, which was its attachment point on the spacecraft. The parachute is much brighter than the Martian surface in this region. The smaller circular feature just south of the bright parachute is about the same size and shape as the back shell, (diameter of 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters).



                  At upper right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located about where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots may be part of the heat shield, such as insulation material, or gleaming reflections of the afternoon sunlight.".




                  A later photo taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed shows: "Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars, in Color".



                  Since the Insight lander was able to send back a test photo I conclude that the heat shield did not strike it and it wasn't covered by the parachute. A photo of the landing site from HiRes may be forthcoming.






                  share|improve this answer












                  An explanation of the landing and a comparison with Phoenix is available at NASA's Insight Entry, Descent and Landing webpage, but it doesn't answer your question as clearly as NASA's LiveStream video of Insight's landing at 13:18.



                  At an altitude of one mile the lander falls away from the back-shell and lights it's engines, then it rotates away so the back-shell doesn't come down and hit it.



                  The failed landing of the ESA Schiaparelli is shown on the JPL webpage: "PIA21131: Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars - "the parachute deployed as planned but was released (with back shell) prematurely, and the lander hit the ground at a velocity of more than 180 miles per hour (more than 300 kilometers per hour)".



                  Despite coming in far too quickly there is excellent separation between the pieces as shown in this photo (click to zoom):



                  Schiaparelli crash site




                  "At lower left is the parachute, adjacent to the back shell, which was its attachment point on the spacecraft. The parachute is much brighter than the Martian surface in this region. The smaller circular feature just south of the bright parachute is about the same size and shape as the back shell, (diameter of 7.9 feet or 2.4 meters).



                  At upper right are several bright features surrounded by dark radial impact patterns, located about where the heat shield was expected to impact. The bright spots may be part of the heat shield, such as insulation material, or gleaming reflections of the afternoon sunlight.".




                  A later photo taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed shows: "Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars, in Color".



                  Since the Insight lander was able to send back a test photo I conclude that the heat shield did not strike it and it wasn't covered by the parachute. A photo of the landing site from HiRes may be forthcoming.







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Nov 26 at 23:35









                  Rob

                  2,3971426




                  2,3971426






















                      anonymous is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










                      draft saved

                      draft discarded


















                      anonymous is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













                      anonymous is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                      anonymous is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















                      Thanks for contributing an answer to Space Exploration Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





                      Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


                      Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function () {
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fspace.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f32292%2fwhat-happens-to-insights-parachute%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                      }
                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      Popular posts from this blog

                      AnyDesk - Fatal Program Failure

                      How to calibrate 16:9 built-in touch-screen to a 4:3 resolution?

                      QoS: MAC-Priority for clients behind a repeater