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InSight

InSight

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4 billion years ago.

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InSight foreground hero - adjusted

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

May 5, 2018

Type

Lander

Target

Mars

Status

Past

About the mission

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4 billion years ago. It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.

Studying Mars' interior structure answers key questions about the early formation of rocky planets in our inner solar system - Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars - more than 4 billion years ago, as well as rocky exoplanets. InSight also measures seismic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars today.

The lander uses cutting edge instruments, to delve deep beneath the surface and seek the fingerprints of the processes that formed the terrestrial planets. It does so by measuring the planet's "vital signs": its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow), and "reflexes" (precision tracking).

Instruments

  • Seismometer
  • Heat-flow probe

Mission Highlights

March 29, 2018

March 29, 2018 - Launch minus 30 media briefing

May 5, 2018

May 5, 2018 - Successful launch from Vandenberg AFB

Nov. 26, 2018

November 26, 2018 - Successful landing on Mars

Nov. 26, 2018

November 26, 2018 - First Image taken after landing

April 2019

First Marsquake

Seismologists with the Marsquake Service, coordinated by ETH Zurich, detected their first marsquake in April 2019. Since then, Mars has more than made up for lost time by shaken frequently, but gently, with no quakes larger than magnitude 3.7.
Mars

More about Mars

News .

NASA’s Perseverance Collects First Mars Sample of New Science Campaign

Image .

Perseverance Samples 'Berea'

Image .

Perseverance Cores 'Berea'

Image .

Lycus Sulci

Image .

Perseverance's Rock Core From 'Berea' Outcrop

Image .

Mars Samples: Proposed Containment and Transport

Image .

Ceraunius Fossae

Image .

Galaxias Chaos

Image .

Dao and Niger Valles

Image .

Rabe Crater Dunes

Mission Website
Launch Press Kit Website
Landing Press Kit Website
Lithograph (PDF)
InSight Twitter Feed

Explore Other Missions

Mariner 8 (Mariner H)

Opportunity Rover

Perseverance Rover

Mariner 7

Mariner 4

Mariner 6

MarCO

Mars Climate Orbiter

Mariner 9 (Mariner I)

Mariner 3

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