Test of Mars-bound instruments in the Black Forest

The “InSight” Mars mission planned for 2018 by NASA and European partners is aimed at studying geophysical properties of the “red planet.” In addition, fundamental questions relating to the planetary and solar system shall be answered to better understand the history of creation of planets of the inner solar system, one of which is the Earth. A highly sensitive seismograph (SEIS) will be one of the main instruments of the mission. The qualifying model, or sister instrument, of this seismometer is presently being tested by the joint geoscientific observatory of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Universität Stuttgart, the Black Forest Observatory (BFO).