‘Quiet’ NSQI Labs Used to Test NASA's InSight Mission Seismometer

Scientists from NASA's InSight mission needed a low vibration site to calibrate the seismometer which will be travelling to the Red Planet in 2016.

Recent tests carried out in the Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information (NSQI) labs, found it to be the quietest location in the UK in the critical seismic frequency range scientists expect to encounter on Mars.

The reason why NSQI is so quiet is due to the way it was built. The centre has:

• a massive concrete structure - the rigidity makes the building stable, but also allows any vibration to travel extremely quickly through and out of the building.
• isolated walkways - corridors around the building have suspended floors to stop vibrations from footfalls travelling through the building
• isolated service - all plant and services (water pipes, air conditioning etc) are mounted on springs or damper pads to stop any vibrations generated from passing into the main structure of the building.
• purpose built - low noise / ultra-low noise labs set in the basement, these labs achieve vibration levels lower than the lowest recognised criteria (Vibration Criteria G - VC-G). As well as anti-vibration measures, the labs are also protected from electrical noise.

After checking out other sites, scientists working for the NASA project decided they would therefore use NSQI to test their equipment and will undetake their research there very soon.

Source: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/