InSight

"Insight (spacecraft)" redirects here. For the Chinese spacecraft also called Insight, see Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope. For other uses, see Insight (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with iSight.

InSight
The InSight lander with solar panels deployed in a cleanroom during preflight testing
NamesInSight
GEMS
Discovery 12
Mission typeMars lander
OperatorNASA / JPL
COSPAR ID2018-042A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.43457
Websitescience.nasa.gov
Mission durationPlanned: 709 sols (2 years)[1]
Final: 1440 sols (4 years, 19 days)
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerLockheed Martin Space
Launch mass694 kg (1,530 lb)[2]
Landing mass358 kg (789 lb)
Dimensions6.0 × 1.56 × 1.0 m (19.7 × 5.1 × 3.3 ft) (deployed)[3]
Power600 watts
Start of mission
Launch date5 May 2018, 11:05:01 UTC
RocketAtlas V 401[4]
AV-078
Launch siteVandenberg, SLC-3E
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance
Entered service26 November 2018
End of mission
DisposalDecommissioned
Declared21 December 2022
Last contact15 December 2022 (official)[5][6]
Mars lander
Landing date26 November 2018, 19:52:59 UTC[1]
MSD 51511 05:14 AMT
Landing siteElysium Planitia[7][8]
4°30′09″N 135°37′24″E / 4.5024°N 135.6234°E / 4.5024; 135.6234 (InSight landing site)[9]
Flyby of Mars
Spacecraft componentMars Cube One (MarCO)
Closest approach26 November 2018, 19:52:59 UTC[1]
Distance3,500 km (2,200 mi)[10]

InSight mission logo
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The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight)[1] mission was a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the planet Mars.[1][11][12] It was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space, was managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),[13] and two of its three scientific instruments were built by European agencies.[14] The mission launched on 5 May 2018 at 11:05:01 UTC aboard an Atlas V-401 launch vehicle[15] and successfully landed[16] at Elysium Planitia on Mars on 26 November 2018 at 19:52:59 UTC.[17][18][15][19] InSight was active on Mars for 1440 sols (1480 days; 4 years, 19 days).

InSight's objectives were to place a seismometer, called Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), on the surface of Mars to measure seismic activity and provide accurate 3D models of the planet's interior; and measure internal heat transfer using a heat probe called HP3 to study Mars' early geological evolution.[20] This was intended to provide a new understanding of how the Solar System's terrestrial planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars – and Earth's Moon formed and evolved.

The lander was originally planned for launch in March 2016.[12][21] An instrument problem delayed the launch beyond the 2016 launch window. NASA officials rescheduled the InSight launch to May 2018[22] and during the wait the instrument was repaired. This increased the total cost from US$675 million to US$830 million.[23][24]

InSight successfully landed on Mars on 26 November 2018. Due to excessive dust on its solar panels preventing it from recharging, NASA put InSight in low-power mode for detecting seismic events in July 2022 and continued monitoring the lander through the operational period ending in December 2022.[25][26] On 20 December 2022, NASA announced that the InSight lander had lost communications with Earth on 15 December 2022, with the end of the mission being declared on 21 December 2022.[5][6][27]

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