Flight Reconstruction of Plume-Induced Site Alteration from InSight

The understanding of rocket plume–surface interaction on planetary bodies will drive safer and more sustainable exploration missions. To that end, the average plume-induced erosion rate of the Mars InSight lander during its powered descent was estimated at 60.4 kg/s. The volume of material displaced and final form of the site were reconstructed photogrammetrically using postlanding images captured by the Instrument Deployment Camera. The resulting elevation model shows six craters of ranging sizes, with an average maximum depth of 15 cm. Other inputs to the erosion computation included estimates of plume impingement time and the bulk density of the regolith at the landing site, Elysium Planitia. An analysis characterizing the erosion physics and uncertainty propagation are noted within this paper, along with other related observations. To better estimate erosion rate, future missions should include a descent imager whose time series of images would simultaneously provide transient elevation models and improved estimates of the impingement time.