InSight

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, was a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4 billion years ago. It was 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 measured seismic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars.

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