Cal Poly technology part of Mars InSight Mission
The first NASA mission to launch to another planet from the west coast has folks excited for liftoff.
The anticipated early morning launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base will be visible to millions and folks in San Luis Obispo got a behind the scenes look on Saturday at the technology that will be a part of the Mars InSight Mission.
Experts say when it comes to our exploration of Mars, we’ve barely scratched the surface.
“It’s a really big deal, I’ve been working this project for eight years now and it’s super exciting to finally be getting it off the ground literally,” said Troy Lee Hudson, Technologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
NASA’s historical InSight Mars Lander is the first-ever expedition to study the heat of the reddish martian tundra.
“We’ll cruise to Mars for six months, and we’ll be placing our first seismometer and heat flow probe to understand the deep interior and structure of the planet,” said Hudson.
Launching on the same rocket is a separate NASA technology experiment known as Mars Cube One
“I feel like not too many people know that Cal Poly actually designs and builds satellites that are actually going to go into orbit. It’s mind-boggling,” said Cassandra Kraver, Aerospace Engineer for Poly Sat.
The Mar-co, the first test of Cube Sat technology in deep space, consists of two briefcase-sized, mini space crafts, designed to test new communications and navigation capabilities.
“One would think that as things get smaller, it gets easier to put together but that’s the opposite. I felt more like a watchmaker sometimes putting it together. We have very tiny, fasteners and we’re practically putting this thing together with tweezers,” said Danny Forgette, Thermal Systems Engineer.
The Atlas V 401 Rocket carrying InSight and Mars Cube One could lift off from Vandenberg Air Force base as early as 4:05 a.m a week from Saturday.
“This is the first interplanetary Cube Stat, one of the first smaller spacecrafts we sort of pioneered here at Cal Poly SLO to actually leave earth’s orbit,” said Forgette.
Scientists say the mission will advance our understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved.
“We’re all fully tested and ready to go to Mars,” said Hudson.
Cal Poly engineering students assisted Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems and JPL in the preparation and testing of twin MarCO units. Cal Poly has been at the forefront of the technology, helping to develop the standard as well as the devices that eject the satellites into space.
