NASA’s robotic lander InSight officially started its journey to Mars following a successful predawn launch aboard an Atlas V rocket Saturday night. The launch took place at 9:05pm AEST from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Photo: AP
InSight — short for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — will spend the next six months covering more than 482.8 million kilometres as it makes its way to the Red Planet. It is expected to reach the surface on November 26.
And we have liftoff! #Mars, here I come! 6 months and counting to the Red Planet. pic.twitter.com/wBPYdZVUlt
— NASAInSight (@NASAInSight) May 5, 2018
So beautiful #InSight #space #mars #rocket ???? pic.twitter.com/7slEKaT8n0
— Christine Corbett M. (@corbett) May 5, 2018
Saturn V launch from Vandenberg seen from Orange County this morning. 5/5:18 #mars #InSight #orangecounty #ktla #abc7eyewitness pic.twitter.com/mNkfWJVeO4
— Hugh Ryono (@HugeRhino) May 5, 2018
If everything goes according to plan, InSight will begin a slow descent to the planet’s surface with the help of a heat shield, parachutes, and its rocket engine. It will aim to land in a flat plain believed to be free of any dangerous rocks and other obstacles that would obstruct the lander. The targeted landing spot is located to the north of the Mars equator Elysium Planitia.
Once the three-legged lander has touched down on Mars, it will probe 4.88m beneath the ground to taking measurements of Mars. InSight will determine the temperature of the planet and measure seismic activity with a seismometer, which will provide a sort of sonogram of the interior structure of the planet.
“This mission will probe the interior of another terrestrial planet, giving us an idea of the size of the core, the mantle, the crust and our ability then to compare that with the Earth,” NASA’s chief scientist Jim Green said, according to USA Today. “This is of fundamental importance to understand the origin of our solar system and how it became the way it is today.”
5-5-2018 Atlas 5 rocket on its way to Mars!
Space X Atlas 5 rocket, designated AV-078, will launch NASA’s InSight lander to Mars.
Shot from Gardena, CA 5/5/2018 @ 4:40am#abc7eyewitness #NBC pic.twitter.com/JBem2hAJEo— Jeff T (@JeffTsuno) May 5, 2018
NASA’s InSight lander just hitched a ride to Mars on an Atlas V rocket; the first interplanetary mission to leave from California. This is a long-exposure shot of the rocket seen from about 85 miles away from the launch site #NASA #InSight #Mars #ULA #AtlasV pic.twitter.com/nARSRDo1D2
— Aaron Collier (@aaroncollier96) May 5, 2018
The @NASAInSight launch, as seen from Mt. Wilson. This was my first attempt at an extended exposure photo of a rocket launch. pic.twitter.com/vNjfKIiTCq
— Lyle Tavernier (@lyletav) May 5, 2018
The tests could also show signs of underground water reserves, which would indicate a possibility that life could exist on Mars.
Bruce Banerdt, the principal investigator for the InSight mission, said during a pre-launch briefing that the potential for scientific discovery is the primary reason for the trip.
“The science that we want to do with this mission… is really the science of understanding the early solar system,” Banerdt said, according to the New York Times. “How planets form, how rocky planets form.”
While the mission — which is the first inter-planetary voyage to launch from California — is off to a good start, there is no guarantee of success. NASA cautioned that Mars trips have only a 40 per cent success rate. USA Today reported nearly $US1 billion has been invested into InSight, including $US813 ($1079) million from US taxpayers and $US180 ($239) million from France and Germany.