All systems are go for NASA’s next launch to the Red Planet.
Saturday's early-morning liftoff of the InSight Mars lander will mark the first time an interplanetary launch has originated from the West Coast. InSight is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 3E on May 5, during a two-hour launch window opening at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT).
InSight, for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on a journey to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all rocky planets formed, including Earth and its Moon. The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes, and a probe that will monitor the flow of heat from the planet's interior.
In this image from May 3, 2018, ULA's Atlas V rocket is seen with NASA's InSight spacecraft onboard.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
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