--- title: "NASA’s Mars Mole is Officially “Dug In”" description: "The “mole” attached to NASA’s InSight Mars lander is officially “in” according to an update by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). After pulling the mole out of the Martian soil in June to check up on it, the DLR team decided to get back to drilling down into the surface. After a lengthy “hammering session” […]" date: "2020-08-10" modified: "2020-08-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-mars-mole-dug-in" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "insight" - "insight mars lander" - "mole" - "NASA" --- # NASA’s Mars Mole is Officially “Dug In” ![The "mole" attached to NASA's InSight Mars lander is officially "in" according to an update by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).]() *\Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech\* After spending over a year of trying to bury itself into the surface of Mars to take the Red Planet's temperature, the "mole" attached to NASA's InSight Mars lander is finally [officially "in"]() and buried in sand according to an update by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Back in June, the DLR team pulled the mole out of the Martian soil in to check up on it, and decided to get back to drilling down into the surface. After a lengthy “hammering session” of 150 strokes on June 20, as JPL put it in a [July update,]() the mole caused “bits of soil jostling within the scoop — possible evidence that the mole had begun bouncing in place, knocking the bottom of the scoop.” The team thought that soil fell in from the sides of the hole the mole dug. "Instead, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the Mole was largely covered with sand," reads today's DLR update. "Only the back cap and a few centimeters of the hull are sticking out." Having the mole completely covered in sand could provide enough friction for the mole to make more headway in its endeavor of reaching a maximum depth of ten feet. The success of burying the mole could also have big impacts on the scientific value of the Mars mole mission. The mole’s mission objective is to take Mars’ temperature from below the surface — and after having it fully buried, "both the thermal and mechanical contact have improved," the update reads. "So we're feeling optimistic!" The discovery came after a number of risky maneuvers trying to gage the state of the mole. "After intense discussion, the team decided to first do a push on the back cap, similar to the successful back cap pushes conducted in the past months," today's update reads. Unfortunately, the "scoop no longer fits in the pit," making such a maneuver pretty risky. After a lengthy back and forth, the team decided to scrape along the top of the buried mole to test if it was possible to push it using the scoop. "The scraping was a complete success!," the team wrote. "The scrape was much more effective than expected and the sand filled the pit almost completely. The Mole is now covered, but there is only a thin layer of sand on the back cap." The team's calculations may have gone awry due to the fact that the shovel went in much deeper than initially thought. **READ MORE:** [Mars InSight mission: The Mole is 'in' and the ‘finishing touches’ are ‘in sight’ ]() \[DLR\] **More on the mole:** *[Crap: NASA’s Mars “Mole” Finally Started Digging, Then Hit Another Obstacle]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()