Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
NASA's Mars InSight lander has a seismograph on it that has measured more than 500 quakes on Mars. Thermal expansion and contraction of a cable connecting the instrument to the lander, however, makes noise that masks the seismic waves from quakes. To mitigate that, engineers are using a scoop on the lander to pick up material from the Martian surface and drop it on the dome covering the instrument (which in turn protects it from wind), so that the material will cover the cable and insulate it.
This video is made from a series of images taken by a camera on the lander showing the procedure.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Original video: mars.nasa.gov/resources/25771/insight-starts-burying-seismometers-cable
NASA's Mars InSight lander has a seismograph on it that has measured more than 500 quakes on Mars. Thermal expansion and contraction of a cable connecting the instrument to the lander, however, makes noise that masks the seismic waves from quakes. To mitigate that, engineers are using a scoop on the lander to pick up material from the Martian surface and drop it on the dome covering the instrument (which in turn protects it from wind), so that the material will cover the cable and insulate it.
This video is made from a series of images taken by a camera on the lander showing the procedure.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Original video: mars.nasa.gov/resources/25771/insight-starts-burying-seismometers-cable
