NASA’s InSight Mission Landed Successfully On Mars

The planet Mars has one more probe. Now, six years after Curiosity, the NASA’s InSight lander touched down gently at Elysium Planitia landing site. With this mission, NASA is the first to study seismology and the depths of the Red Planet.

After a seven-month journey and 484,773,006 kilometers between Earth and Mars, NASA’s InSight spacecraft landed on the Red Planet. InSight landed at 2:54 ET on Elysium Planitia, seven minutes after it entered the Martian atmosphere. Seven minutes of terror during which the probe went from a speed of 20,000 km/h to a complete stop. Thirty-two minutes later, it deployed its solar panels to produce the electricity necessary for its operation.

However, before that, InSight has sent photos, taken from its landing site, showing a dusty landscape raised by the probe itself at the time of landing. With InSight, for the first time, NASA would study the internal composition of the Red Planet, such as Mars’ seismology, geodesy, and thermal properties.

Scientific Operations of NASA’ InSigh Will Begin In A Few Months

Scientific operations are not going to start right away as the seismometer, and HP3 heat flow sensor should be installed on the ground using a robotic arm at a later date. Meanwhile, InSight won’t stand still as its other instruments will work for characterizing the Mars’ atmosphere as well as the electromagnetic noise of the environment in which the seismometer will operate.

Also, it would characterize the influence of the landing site environment on the measurements made by the seismometer, while it would map and photograph the terrain surrounding the Elysium Planitia.

The NASA’s InSight mission’s scientists would also reproduce the terrain on which the lander touched down on Mars, based on the images snapshotted by InSight and recorded by JPL! Once placed on Martian soil, it would take several more weeks for NASA’s InSight before its instruments will operate at their maximum.