Design and Verification of the Feet Design used for the “Heat Flow Property Package Instrument” (HP3) on-board the Mars Mission InSight

Abstract

The HP3 instrument measures the thermal flux through the Martian crust using a penetration probe. Launched on the InSight mission in 2018, HP3 was deployed for penetration activities in the beginning of 2019. During initial operation, the instrument is vulnerable to slip, due to a combination of low system mass (3.3 kg on Earth), shocks delivered by the penetration probe’s action, and the possibility of an inclined attitude on the surface. An uncontrolled position change of the instrument on the surface can reduce the scientific output and even lead to a loss of the experiment if the probe’s supporting structure moves laterally. Naturally, the design of the feet has major impact on the total amount of slippage. A new design for the feet with a high slippage resistance capability at a low level of complexity and mass was developed for this instrument’s supporting structure. The design provides sufficient slippage resistance while fulfilling the challenging set of requirements for a Mars surface mission. The design was verified by test campaigns which emulate launch environments and operational behavior on Mars. This paper gives a detailed overview of the HP3 instrument itself, the relevant requirements, the complex different test campaigns and the final flight design