December 23, 2015
The launch of a US scientific satellite scheduled for March to Mars was suspended by a leak in a research tool, said Tuesday NASA creating uncertainty about the future of an expected effort to study the planet’s interior
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The launch of a US scientific satellite scheduled for March to Mars He was suspended for a leak in a research tool, said Tuesday NASA, creating uncertainty about the future of an expected effort to study the planet’s interior.
The ship, called InSight, is designed to help scientists to learn more about the formation of the rocky planets, including Earth.
The cancellation raises questions about the future of research on the red planet, as they spend two years for Earth and Mars are aligned for a launch. NASA has not said whether it will finance the program, which is capped at $ 425 million.
After landing on Mars, the spacecraft would have remained motionless, using three scientific instruments to detect earthquakes and other activities seismic. It is also designed to measure how much heat is released from below the surface and control the movement of Mars, or variations in its orbit around the sun.
A problem with the seismograph caused the cancellation of the launch, he said the agency said in a statement. The instrument, which was provided by the French space agency CNES, has a leak in the vacuum container where its primary sensors are located.
The CNES repaired the faulty welding in the vacuum tank, but apparently the problem continued, NASA said.
InSight was presented last week at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to begin preparations for launch.
Reuters
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