Sign in / up

back to article NASA sending five-metre THERMO-HAMMER to Mars

NASA has announced that its next Mars lander, the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight), has started its pre-flight tests to ensure it can survive launch and the long schlep to the Red Planet. InSight is due to launch and reach Mars next year. When it arrives, one of its chores …

COMMENTS

Post your comment
House rules Send corrections
Add to 'My topics' unstar *
  1. Pen-y-gors

    InSight?

    How did they get Insight as an Acronym of Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport - I reckon it's IEUSIGAHT

    3 0 Reply
    1. Elmer Phud
      Reply Icon

      Re: InSight?

      "I reckon it's IEUSIGAHT"

      is that Scots or Irish Gaelic for 'insight'?

      4 0 Reply
      1. Trigonoceps occipitalis
        Reply Icon

        Re: InSight?

        No, Loyd Grossman.

        0 0 Reply
    2. Phuq Witt
      Reply Icon

      Re: InSight?

      Yeah. If you're going to come up with a painfully forced acronym, at least rise to the challenge of constructing it from the first letters of each word —and use all the words! Otherwise it's just:

      Plainly

      cHeating

      Unsporting [and]

      Quite

      Wrong

      In [its]

      Tortuous

      Tautology

      4 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: InSight?

      How did they get Insight as an Acronym of Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport - I reckon it's IEUSIGAHT

      They use the LAFLOTMIFANA process: Leaving A Few Letters Out To Make It Fit A Neat Acronym.

      Or Find Useless but Comical Keywords In Terminology. Any one will do :)

      0 0 Reply
    4. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: InSight?

      It's French ...

      0 0 Reply
  2. AbelSoul

    "See video below"

    Not sure if it's an issue with my browser or what not but I don't see any video attached to the article.

    4 0 Reply
    1. Clive Galway
      Reply Icon

      Re: "See video below"

      Me too.

      I think they probably mean the video on this page, but I don't think you can stream those, maybe that's why it got omitted.

      http://insight.jpl.nasa.gov/videos.cfm?Vid_ID=4

      0 0 Reply
  3. MAF

    Putting down the hammer is easy. Picking it up is only for the worthy....

    2 0 Reply
    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      You mean geologists?

      0 0 Reply
  4. Hairless Biker
    Boffin

    "InSight's mission is planned to last two years."

    So what's it going to do for the other 8 years it will actually continue working for?

    1 0 Reply
    1. MrXavia
      Reply Icon

      Re: "InSight's mission is planned to last two years."

      Take Selfies?

      0 0 Reply
    2. TitterYeNot
      Reply Icon
      Coat

      Re: "InSight's mission is planned to last two years."

      "So what's it going to do for the other 8 years it will actually continue working for?"

      It'll sit there muttering repeatedly to itself "Here I am, brain the size of a RAD5500, and they ask me to measure a wobbly planet then hit it with a hammer..."

      3 0 Reply
    3. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "InSight's mission is planned to last two years."

      So what's it going to do for the other 8 years it will actually continue working for?

      Maybe fix the other Mars vehicles out there? That's what I would do, one robot to do work and a maintenance kit for the other ones. I would just to see just how many Mars miles you can get out of good engineering before it it really is dead.

      Unless AmanfroMars is at home, of course.

      0 0 Reply
  5. ppyvmw

    Credit where credit's due

    I can't believe this article doesn't make more of the fact that this is an American platform carrying ALL EUROPEAN INSTRUMENTS. This is is a great achievement for the European institutes involved.

    6 0 Reply
    1. Pascal Monett Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Eh, journalists these days . . .

      0 0 Reply
  6. Alistair

    @Pen-y-gors

    Bless you.

    1 0 Reply
  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Always wondered how they make sure that the parachutes won't accidentally cover the machine? Especially as it can't move.

    0 0 Reply
    1. Martin Budden Silver badge
      Reply Icon
      Joke

      Helium-filled parachutes, so they stay bobbing above the lander forever.

      0 0 Reply

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

Forgotten password ?

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like