May 04, 2018
Mars InSight will help study the red planet at a much more foundational level, helping to fill large gaps in scientists’ understanding of the planet’s geologic structure, composition and seismic activity.
NASA InSight set to launch Saturday to help scientists study inner depths of Mars
Forty two years ago, the U.S. landed its first Mars probe on the red planet. Ever since Viking I touched down, NASA has sent a series of increasingly sophisticated rovers and orbiters to study our neighbour’s features and atmosphere.
But that’s all been skin-deep. None of those craft have ever gotten too deep into the place.
This weekend, NASA is launching a machine designed to study Mars at a much more foundational level, helping to fill large gaps in scientists’ understanding of the planet’s geologic structure, composition and seismic activity.
Mars InSight, scheduled to land later this year, is the first NASA mission to study the red planet’s interior or, as the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory phrases it, “the vital signs of Mars.” (InSight stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.)
The launch is set for 4:05 a.m. PDT Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California aboard an Atlas V rocket, with a two-hour daily launch window. It will become the first NASA deep-space mission sent from the West Coast.
The 794-pound lander, built by Lockheed Martin Corp., is set to touch down Nov. 26 after a six-month cruise and a six-minute re-entry and descent—the most perilous aspect of the journey.
For scientists, one principal question looms over the work InSight will perform: How did Earth and Mars become so radically different, given that each was formed of the same intergalactic “stuff” about 4.5 billion years ago?
Mars presents an interesting geologic specimen to study rocky planet formation because of its “Goldilocks” size: It’s sizable enough that it experienced the same early processes as Earth and Venus during its formation, but it’s small enough to have retained a record of those processes deep within.
Unlike Mars, Earth has active tectonic plates and convection that carries heat from the core outward, moving around the mantle layer. One InSight instrument will dig 5 meters into the subsurface to measure heat from the interior.
“It’s really a science of understanding the early solar system … how planets formed,” Bruce Banerdt, InSight’s principal investigator from JPL, said Thursday during a news briefing.
But even without plates, Mars on occasion rumbles—with marsquakes—another geologic phenomenon that InSight investigators want to study.
NASA’s twin Viking landers from the summer of 1976 had seismometers to detect marsquakes but those were atop the craft and produced “noisy data,” according to JPL. The InSight instrument will be on the ground and is expected to yield much more insight into such phenomenon, which are thought to be smaller than 6.0 on the Richter scale, given that Mars doesn’t have the same plate structure as Earth. Seismic activity on Mars is thought to be from cracks forming in the crust, with the planet’s interior energy expected to be lower than Earth’s.
The Atlas V will also launch two small CubeSats that will trail InSight to Mars to test deep-space communications technology. The launch is the first time such small sats, about the size of a briefcase, have flown in deep space.
Amid the heady science and bevy of “firsts” for this mission, it’s worth noting that Mars missions have a spotty success rate of only about 40 per cent, given the distance and many perils associated with entry, descent and landing.
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.