NASA's InSight Successfully Lands on Mars To Peer Inside The 'Red Planet'

After seven months of traveling through space, the NASA InSight mission has landed on Mars. A few minutes after landing, InSight sent the official "beep" to NASA to signal that it was alive and well, including a photo of the Martian surface where it landed.

The InSight will operate on Mars for the next two Earth years, deploying a seismometer, a heat sensor and radio antenna to probe the Red Planet's interior. Scientists hope that InSight will uncover signs of tectonic activity and clues about the planet's past. Those findings could illuminate how Mars became the desolate desert world we see today.

"Today, we successfully landed on Mars for the eighth time in human history," NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said.

"InSight will study the interior of Mars and will teach us valuable science as we prepare to send astronauts to the Moon and later to Mars. This accomplishment represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners, and it serves as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team. The best of NASA is yet to come, and it is coming soon," he added.

NASA's InSight Mars lander acquired this image of the area in front of the lander using its lander-mounted Instrument Context Camera.

 

 

 

 

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#NoFilter! Our InSight lander sent home its first photo after this afternoon’s #MarsLanding - the first time we’ve landed on the Red Planet in six years! The instrument context camera mounted below the lander deck obtained this image on the surface of Mars shortly after touching down at 2:52 p.m. EST. The transparent lens cover was still in place to protect the lens from any dust kicked up while landing near Mars' equator on the western side of a flat, smooth expanse of lava called Elysium Planitia. For the next two years, the spacecraft will use its unique tools to conduct Mars’ first thorough checkup since it formed 4.5 billion years ago. As the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the “inner space” of Mars, the mission will help us understand how rocky planets, including Earth, formed. Credit: NASA #nasa #space #insight #redplanet #mars #redplanet #science #solarsystem #picoftheday

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Nov 26, 2018 at 1:53pm PST