NASA InSight’s ‘Mole’ Taps the Bottom of the Lander’s Scoop

InSight's self-hammering "mole," which is in the soil beneath the scoop, had begun tapping the bottom of the scoop while hammering on June 20, 2020.
July 7, 2020
CreditNASA/JPL-Caltech
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After the scoop on the end of NASA's Mars InSight lander was used to push down on the top of the spacecraft's "mole," or self-hammering heat probe, it was held in place to essentially block the mole from popping out of the soil. The movement of sand grains in the scoop, seen here, suggested that the mole had began bumping up against the bottom of the scoop while hammering on June 20, 2020.

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