NASA's InSight mission lands on Mars: What it means and what's next

Antonia Jaramillo
Florida Today

Today was the day.

Thanks to NASA's successful InSight mission, the space agency's one step closer  to finding out how the rocky planets in our solar system first formed. It may also provide insight as to why Earth and Mars evolved so differently.

Traveling for a little over six months, InSight completed 201,223,981 miles at a top speed of 6,200 mph by the time it landed on Mars just before 3 p.m. EST Monday. Coincidentally, the Mars Curiosity Rover launched on the same day — Nov. 26 — seven years earlier from Cape Canaveral.

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The InSight landing coverage was streamed live on NASA TV, YouTube  and Ustream. People around the world hosted watch parties to watch InSight land successfully.

With  more than 90 viewing locations across the U.S. and others  around the world such as France and Germany,  InSight had quite an audience for its landing.

On the Space Coast, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex  hosted a live viewing event in  its Rocket Garden just behind space shuttle Atlantis.

Barrie and Sandra Rose traveled from the Isle of Man between Great Britain and Ireland.

"We have been here since the beginning, before we even went to the moon, and it's just phenomenal when you realize how far we've come and where we're going," Sandra Rose, 71, said.

After their flights were canceled because of bad weather, Greg and Nicole Roberts ventured to the Space Coast for InSight. 

"We had the day so we thought we might as well visit Kennedy Space Center and view the landing," said Greg Roberts, 62. "It's exciting to be able to see InSight's journey end."

 

Significance of InSight

 

Though there have been other missions to Mars, this one stands out.

Short for "Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport," InSight aims to study the inner space of our red planet neighbor. 

Studying its surface since 1965, scientists have been able to study the orbit and surface of Mars, learning about its weather, atmosphere, geology and surface chemistry, said Lori Glaze, acting director of the planetary science division in NASA'S Science Mission Directorate.

As part of NASA's discovery program, this mission is part of a series focused on asking critical questions in solar system science, and any insights into InSight should give scientists a deeper understanding of Mars.

Kind of like a check-up at the doctor's office, the Mars lander will  give a check-up of our terrestrial neighbor since it formed 4.5 billion years ago, according to NASA.

"It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the 'inner space' of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core," NASA said.

By studying the interior structure of the red planet, scientists may finally get answers to key questions such as:

• How rocky body forms and evolves to become a planet

• How to determine the rate of Martian tectonic activity and meteorite impacts

By measuring the planet's seismology, heat flow and precision tracking, the lander is able to dive deep beneath the surface and retrieve the processes that formed the terrestrial planets, according to NASA.

Throughout its two-year mission, InSight  should achieve many firsts like:

• Probing into the Martian surface as deep as 16 feet/5 meters

• Using a robotic arm to grasp instruments on another planet

• Using a seismometer directly on the Martian surface

• Detecting quakes on another planet

Unlike the other rocky planets in our solar system, Mars is like the goldlilocks effect: neither too big nor too small. This gives scientists the ability to study how the terrestrial planets formed because Mars preserved its record of its formation, according to NASA.

"It's the perfect laboratory from which to study the formation and evolution of rocky planets," NASA said.

What's next

Now that InSight landed successfully on Elysium Planitia, a flat-smooth plain north of Mars' equator, the work is set to begin.

 Technically, InSight lander began surface operations as soon as it touched the surface, but its science data collection  won't begin until roughly 10 weeks after landing, according to NASA. 

During these 10 weeks, the lander team will choose the perfect spot where they can lay down their scientific instruments and begin studying the interior of Mars.

Once the location has been selected, InSight will place its Heat flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) and Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) on the surface, where, along with the, Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE), will gather data for about 23 months. 

Jaramillo is the Space Trends reporter at FLORIDA TODAY.

Contact Jaramillo at 321-242-3668

or antoniaj@floridatoday.com.

Twitter@AntoniaJ_11

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