NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport), a mechanical three-legged, one-armed mining spacecraft, successfully landed on Mars Monday afternoon, finishing one journey It will be the first mission to drill deeper into Mars as well as investigate if there are “Marsquakes.” The lander will open its solar panels after it waits for dust to literally clear approximately 4-hours after touching down. Read more for a live stream and additional information.
NASA’s InSight marks the first attempt since 2012 for an American spacecraft to visit the red planet. The trip that started seven months and more than 300 million miles ago ended in a somewhat smooth last 7-minutes of entry, descent and landing onto the Martian surface.
“We’ve studied Mars from orbit and from the surface since 1965, learning about its weather, atmosphere, geology and surface chemistry. Now we finally will explore inside Mars and deepen our understanding of our terrestrial neighbor as NASA prepares to send human explorers deeper into the solar system,” Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a press release.
