美國國家航空和宇宙航行局讓火星鼴鼠號工作的最新方法是推它一把

美國國家航空和宇宙航行局讓火星鼴鼠號工作的最新方法是推它一把

Currently, on Mars there is a very sophisticated instrument that doesn’t seem to work, so NASA has resolved taking some desperate measures to get it going again.

目前，在火星上有一個非常復雜的儀器似乎不能工作，所以美國宇航局決定采取一些絕對的措施讓它再次運行。

Alfredo Carpineti

The instrument in question is the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, or HP3, but better known as "the mole". Its job is to dig down into the Martian soil and begin to measure the internal temperature of the Red Planet. Unfortunately, since February 28, 2019, it's not been doing much digging.

問題中的儀器是熱流和物理性能包，或HP3，但更廣為人知的名稱是“摩爾”。它的任務是深入火星土壤，開始測量這顆紅色星球的內部溫度。不幸的是，自2019年2月28日以來，它沒有做太多的挖掘工作。

The heat probe is self-hammering, so it drills through the soil by jumping up and down. To work it needs friction, which is best given by loose, sand-like soil. However, the soil where the NASA mission landed is different from the soil in previously studied locations, and it's not providing the friction it needs.

熱探頭是自錘式的，所以它通過上下跳動鉆透土壤。它需要摩擦力才能工作，而最好的摩擦力來自松軟的砂土。然而，美國宇航局任務著陸的土壤與之前研究過的地方不同，不能提供所需的摩擦力。

The mole is attached to the lander InSight, and over the past year engineers from both sides of the Atlantic have been looking at solutions to get the mole back in its hole. After some issues in October last year, the solution that had the most success was the “pinning” approach. The team used InSight’s robotic arm to push against the side of the heat probe, providing enough friction to hammer through the top layer of soil. It did get digging again, but unfortunately, the mole popped back out on two occasions likely due to a soil buildup during the self-hammering process. Hence the need now for drastic measures.

“鼴鼠號”與“洞察號”著陸器相連，在過去的一年里，大西洋兩岸的工程師們一直在尋找讓“鼴鼠號”回到洞里的辦法。在去年10月的一些問題之后，最成功的解決方案是“固定”方法。該團隊使用InSight的機械臂推動熱探頭的側面，提供足夠的摩擦力來穿透表層土壤。它確實又挖了起來，但不幸的是，這只鼴鼠有兩次從洞里鉆了出來，很可能是在自我錘擊的過程中，由于土壤堆積的緣故。因此，現(xiàn)在需要采取嚴厲措施。

NASA InSight recently moved its robotic arm closer to the "mole," in preparation to push on its top, or back cap.Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The robotic arm will now be placed on top of the mole so it can push the probe down deeper and deeper into the ground; hopefully, deep enough for it to get a grip (literally and figuratively) and continue by itself. Despite its simplicity, this is a risky move. The back of HP3 is where the delicate science tether that links the mole to the lander is found.

機械臂現(xiàn)在將被放置在鼴鼠的上面，這樣它就可以把探測器往地下推得越來越深;希望足夠深，讓它抓住(字面上和比喻上)并繼續(xù)自己。盡管操作簡單，但這是一個冒險的舉動。HP3的背面是連接“鼴鼠號”和“著陸器”的精密科學纜繩。

Over the next few weeks, the team will test this approach. They will gently place the robotic arm scoop on the mole's back cap and allow the mole to do a short hammering session. They will also use the scoop to cover the hole around the mole with more soil, hopefully producing more friction for it.

在接下來的幾周里，團隊將測試這種方法。他們將輕輕地把機械臂勺放在鼴鼠的后蓋上，讓鼴鼠進行短暫的錘擊。他們還會用鏟子在鼴鼠周圍的洞上蓋上更多的土，希望能產(chǎn)生更多的摩擦。

Hopefully, HP3 will be soon known as the little mole that could and (finally) start to uncover the mysteries of Mars' interior.

希望HP3能很快被稱為“小鼴鼠”，能夠(最終)揭開火星內部的神秘面紗。