Sstrhsrtj

If the entire event of EDL(Entry- Descent - Landing) is going to take only 7 minutes and if the command to begin could be signalled based on ground weather condition, why to take the extra effort to program abilities to land in dust storms?

Why not make use of dynamic weather monitoring and initiate entry when the conditions are perfect?

Because it's at the end of a 6 month cruise and there's no turning back.

InSight will not enter closed orbit around Mars - its trajectory is hyperbolic so either it misses Mars entirely or it enters the atmosphere.

There were six planned course corrections during the cruise phase, the final one of which - TCM 6 - occurred on the day of the landing. This was to precisely target the landing site and would have made very little difference to the entry time - certainly not enough to wait out a dust storm.

InSight doesn't enter Martian orbit before EDL; it plows straight into Mars' atmosphere from interplanetary space. Thus, the time of landing is pretty much un-alterable after its final midcourse correction maneuvers; it cannot wait for perfect weather conditions to land.

To deal with dust storms, two of the changes between Phoenix and InSight are mechanical in nature:

• InSight uses a thicker heat shield, partly to handle the possibility of being sandblasted by a dust storm.




• InSight’s parachute suspension lines use stronger material.

https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/timeline/landing/entry-descent-landing/

The landing site needs to be both flat and level, and reconnaissance helped to choose the optimal site. Nonetheless, there still could be boulders or small hills that should be avoided. Therefore, there are cameras and radar that help the computer decide the best place for landing, and thrust appropriately. These cameras and radar can be blinded by dust storms.