Polish-built robot lands on Mars
PR dla Zagranicy
Grzegorz Siwicki
27.11.2018 07:30
A hi-tech robotic device designed and built by a Polish company has landed on Mars on board a NASA spacecraft.
A photo made available by NASA shows the first image shot from the InSight spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory after its successful landing on Mars on Monday. Photo: EPA/NASA/HANDOUT
The device, described as a self-hammering mechanism, is a component of a heat probe that will examine the thermal properties of the Red Planet.
The main goal of the US space agency’s InSight mission—launched on May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California—is to give scientists a better understanding of the structure and geological activity of Mars.
The InSight lander touched down safely on the Red Planet at 8:53 pm Polish time on Monday after a journey of 485 million kilometres.
Mission control engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, burst into cheers and applause as soon as the lander arrived on Martian soil.
It is expected to remain active on the Red Planet for two years.
The self-hammering instrument has been developed by innovative Warsaw company Astronika, which was founded in 2013 by a group of Polish engineers specialising in precision mechanics and space technology.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR, astronika.pl