InSight, robotic Mars lander, geophysicist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA

NASA's next mission to Mars is weeks away from its May 2018 launch. InSight is more than a Mars mission. Its team members hope to unlock the mysteries of the formation and evolution of rocky planets, including Earth.

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This weekend, NASA is set to launch the InSight Mars lander, which will study Mars' interior and seismic activity to better understand how planets are formed. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Farrah Alibay explains what to expect from the mission.

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A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying NASA’s InSight mission to Mars lifts off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on May 5, 2018. The mission marks the first interplanetary launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The two-year InSight mission seeks to understand the evolutionary formation of rocky planets, including Earth, by investigating the interior structure and processes of Mars.

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Go, Atlas. Go, Centaur. Go, InSight! NASA's InSight mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base for Mars on May 5, 2018—the first interplanetary launch from the West Coast. InSight is expected to land on the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018. More than a mission to Mars, InSight will help scientists understand the formation and early evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.

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After a long journey, the InSight spacecraft will arrive at the Red Planet on November 26, 2018. Learn about the punishing entry, descent and landing sequence and what it takes to safely land on Mars.

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On Monday, Nov. 26, 2018, our InSight spacecraft is set to land on Mars. This new documentary from NASA Launch Services follows InSight's road to launch earlier this year & May 5, 2018 liftoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

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InSight is going to drill under the Martian surface to find out more about the red planet. What causes Marsquakes? What's inside the planet's core? And does Mars actually wobble? Claire Reilly digs deeper to find out.

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NASA’s InSight mission successfully landed on Elysium Planitia, Mars, on 26 November 2018, at around 19:54 UTC (12:54 PST, 15:54 EST). The InSight lander, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a NASA mission designed to study Mars’ interior structure.

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Original air date: November 26, 2018 11 a.m. PT (2 p.m. ET)

See inside mission control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as signals return from the InSight mission as it lands on Mars. Landing commentary includes interviews with team members.

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Years of preparation, engineering and mind-boggling maths led to seven nail-baiting minutes that decided the fate of the InSight lander. Claire Reilly looks at the successful landing that could have gone very wrong.

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Listen to Martian wind blow across NASA’s InSight lander. The spacecraft’s seismometer and air pressure sensor picked up vibrations from 10-15 mph (16-24 kph) winds as they blew across Mars’ Elysium Planitia on Dec. 1, 2018.

The seismometer readings are in the range of human hearing, but are nearly all bass and difficult to hear on laptop speakers and mobile devices. We provide the original audio and a version pitched up by two octaves to make them audible on mobile devices. Playback is suggested on a sound system with a subwoofer or through headphones. Readings from the air pressure sensor have been sped up by a factor of 100 times to make them audible.

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NASA’s InSight lander touched down in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars in November of 2018. During its time on the Red Planet, InSight has achieved all its primary science goals and continues to hunt for quakes on Mars.

The mission is the first to reveal the interior structure of Mars, using marsquakes to study the layers inside the planet. InSight’s seismometer was the first to detect a quake on another planet. InSight also measured weather at Elysium Planitia for four years with a unique set of meteorological sensors.

InSight has also persisted through adversity. The team found innovative ways to take on engineering challenges they encountered. InSight’s findings help scientists understand how all rocky worlds, including Earth and its Moon, formed.

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InSight’s final images: NASA InSight mission controllers were unable to contact the lander after two consecutive attempts, leading them to conclude the spacecraft’s solar-powered batteries have run out of energy. The last time InSight communicated with Earth was 15 December 2022. InSight's Final Selfie was taken on 24 April 2022, the 1,211th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. InSight’s final images were received on 11 December 2022.

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