Location and Setting of the Mars InSight Lander, Instruments, and Landing Site

Golombek, M.; Williams, Nathan; Warner, N.; Parker, T. J.; Williams, Margaret; Daubar, I. J.; Calef, F.; Grant, J. A.; Bailey, Philip; Abarca, H.; Deen, R.; Ruoff, N.; Maki, J. N.; McEwen, A. S.; Baugh, N.; Block, Kristin; Tamppari, L. K.; Call, Jared A.; Ladewig, J. V.; Stoltz, A.; Weems, W. A.; Mora-Sotomayor, Luis; Torres, J.; Johnson, Mark; Kennedy, T.; Sklyanskiy, Evgeniy

doi:10.1029/2020ea001248

Cited by 38 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Since 9 February 2019 (Sol 73), InSight's main scientific instrument SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) is recording seismic data in its operational configuration (Banerdt et al., 2020). The SEIS package (Lognonné et al., 2019), which is located at 135.6234°E and 4.5023°N in Elysium Planitia (Golombek et al, 2020) and whose network and station code for the scientific data is XB.ELYSE, consists of 2 three‐component seismometers; one being very broadband (VBB) with a corner period of 16 s, and one being short‐period (SP) with a corner period of 35 s. The noise floor of the two instruments is equivalent only above 5 Hz while it is about ∼30 dB lower for the VBB at frequencies below 0.1 Hz. It is this frequency dependence of the seismometers' self‐noise that determines their names as established for the InSight project (Lognonné et al., 2019), even though the naming convention does not follow terrestrial standards (e.g., Ahern et al., 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection, Analysis, and Removal of Glitches From InSight's Seismic Data From Mars

Scholz

Widmer‐Schnidrig²,

Davis

et al. 2020

Earth and Space Science

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The instrument package SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) with the three very broadband and three short-period seismic sensors is installed on the surface on Mars as part of NASA's InSight Discovery mission. When compared to terrestrial installations, SEIS is deployed in a very harsh wind and temperature environment that leads to inevitable degradation of the quality of the recorded data. One ubiquitous artifact in the raw data is an abundance of transient one-sided pulses often accompanied by high-frequency spikes. These pulses, which we term "glitches", can be modeled as the response of the instrument to a step in acceleration, while the spikes can be modeled as the response to a simultaneous step in displacement. We attribute the glitches primarily to SEIS-internal stress relaxations caused by the large temperature variations to which the instrument is exposed during a Martian day. Only a small fraction of glitches correspond to a motion of the SEIS package as a whole caused by minuscule tilts of either the instrument or the ground. In this study, we focus on the analysis of the glitch+spike phenomenon and present how these signals can be automatically detected and removed from SEIS's raw data. As glitches affect many standard seismological analysis methods such as receiver functions, spectral decomposition and source inversions, we anticipate that studies of the Martian seismicity as well as studies of Mars' internal structure should benefit from deglitched seismic data. Plain Language Summary The instrument package SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) with two fully equipped seismometers is installed on the surface of Mars as part of NASA's InSight Discovery mission. When compared to terrestrial installations, SEIS is more exposed to wind and daily temperature changes that leads to inevitable degradation of the quality of the recorded data. One consequence is the occurrence of a specific type of transient noise that we term "glitch". Glitches show up in the recorded data as one-sided pulses and have strong implications for the typical seismic data analysis. Glitches can be understood as step-like changes in the acceleration sensed by the seismometers. We attribute them primarily to SEIS-internal stress relaxations caused by the large temperature variations to which the instrument is exposed during a Martian day. Only a small fraction of glitches correspond to a motion of the whole SEIS instrument. In this study, we focus on the detection and removal of glitches and anticipate

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection, Analysis, and Removal of Glitches From InSight's Seismic Data From Mars

Scholz

Widmer‐Schnidrig²,

Davis

et al. 2020

Earth and Space Science

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“…However, those coordinates correspond to the prelanding lander coordinates, and are different from the real lander planetocentric coordinates which are 4. 50247°N, 135.6,180,843°E (Parker et al, 2019) (Golombek, Williams, et al, 2020).…”

Section: Determination Of the Timementioning

confidence: 99%

“…After placing SEIS in the workspace to the south of the lander, several methods were used to determine its location (Golombek, Williams, et al, 2020 were used as was the physical location of the arm by moving the grapple (used to pick up the instruments) directly above SEIS. These determinations were made in spacecraft centered coordinate systems.…”

Section: Location Of Seis and Knowledge Of Northmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Independently from the gnomon experiment, orientation of the SEIS instrument has been measured by using the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). Golombek, Williams, et al (2020) gives SEIS ground location expressed in the site frame. The site frame was determined by IMU measurement during descent, with Z axis along the gravity vector, X north and Y east.…”

Section: Comparison Of the Gnomonic True North Direction With The Inementioning

confidence: 99%

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Finding SEIS North on Mars: Comparisons Between SEIS Sundial, Inertial and Imaging Measurements and Consequences for Seismic Analysis

Savoie

Richard

Goutaudier

et al. 2021

Earth and Space Science

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In this paper, we present the results obtained in the determination of the true North direction on Mars by using a gnomon on the InSight mission and compare the measurements with either the North determination from the Inertial Measurement Unit and Imaging analysis. The obtained measurement has been used to populate the SEIS orientation information in the archived SEIS data. Images taken during December 2018 and January 2019 allow to determine the gnomon shadow position and length over a target. By calculating the Sun local coordinates using planetary ephemeris VSOP87, the images are used to estimate the true North direction on the landing site. By using eight different images selected, we obtain the true North direction with an accuracy up to 2.5 • , which is confirmed by the IMU and Imaging analysis. The true North direction is also confirmed by an image taken near local noon, when the sun crosses the meridian. The North determination precision is then discussed in view of the seismic determination of the back-azimuth. NASA's InSight landing on Mars took place on November 26, 2018. After a few weeks of surface operations, InSight deployed the seismometer package SEIS (Seismic Experience for Interior Structure) (Lognonné et al., 2019) on the martian surface and provided first results (Banerdt et al., 2020; Giardini et al., 2020; Lognonné et al., 2020). Many of the SEIS scientific investigations were made by the 3 axis capability of the SEIS instrument, enabling the measurement, in the North, East, vertical local reference, of the ground acceleration. This paper is therefore focused on the methods used to determine this reference frame. While SEIS has its vertical axis, thanks to its leveling system, aligned with the local gravity to within less than 0.1 • , the determination of its

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“…InSight features a fully deployed shielded seismometer on the surface of Mars (Lognonné et al., 2019, 2020), as well as sensors probing the atmospheric, magnetic, and surface environments (Banfield et al., 2018, 2020). Furthermore, of interest for transit studies, the InSight lander has been located independently from orbital imaging and the radio tracking experiment RISE onboard (Folkner et al., 2018) and can be considered the best‐constrained location on the planet at 4.50238417°N, 135.62344690°E, at an elevation of −2,613.426 m with respect to the MOLA areoid (ground under spacecraft deck center; see Golombek et al., 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geophysical Observations of Phobos Transits by InSight

Stähler

Widmer‐Schnidrig²,

Scholz

et al. 2020

Geophysical Research Letters

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Since landing on Mars, the NASA InSight lander has witnessed eight Phobos and one Deimos transits. All transits could be observed by a drop in the solar array current and the surface temperature, but more surprisingly, for several ones, a clear signature was recorded with the seismic sensors and the magnetometer. We present a preliminary interpretation of the seismometer data as temperature-induced local deformation of the ground, supported by terrestrial analog experiments and finite-element modeling. The magnetic signature is most likely induced by changing currents from the solar arrays. While the observations are not fully understood yet, the recording of transit-related phenomena with high sampling rate will allow more precise measurements of the transit times, thus providing additional constraints for the orbital parameters of Phobos. The response of the seismometer can potentially also be used to constrain the thermoelastic properties of the shallow regolith at the landing site. Plain Language Summary The geophysical lander, InSight, has been operating on the surface of Mars since November 2018. Since then, the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos have been partially blocking the Sun, as seen from the InSight landing site, multiple times. Multiple InSight instruments have been measuring the effect of those transits; this surprisingly includes the seismometer and the magnetometer. We conclude that temperature-induced deformation and tilt are responsible for the seismic measurements. The change observed in the magnetometer measurements are most likely the result of a drop in the solar array currents. We do not observe atmospheric modulations with InSight's weather station during the transit. These observations help constrain orbital parameters of the Martian moons, and the seismometer signal might allow investigating thermoelastic properties of the shallow Martian material.

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Location and Setting of the Mars InSight Lander, Instruments, and Landing Site

Cited by 38 publications

References 66 publications

Detection, Analysis, and Removal of Glitches From InSight's Seismic Data From Mars

Detection, Analysis, and Removal of Glitches From InSight's Seismic Data From Mars

Finding SEIS North on Mars: Comparisons Between SEIS Sundial, Inertial and Imaging Measurements and Consequences for Seismic Analysis

Geophysical Observations of Phobos Transits by InSight

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