A mission to study the heart of Mars is about to get underway. The Insight spacecraft will be launching this weekend and landing on Mars soon after. Once there it will drill about 16 feet into the planet’s surface. From there it will measure heat output and listen for marsquakes. These quakes are similar to the ones we have on Earth and they can tell scientists a lot about the planet’s interior. Hopefully, this data will give us some answers on how rocky planets are formed.
The lander also hopes to discover some details about the planet’s core. With information from the lander, scientists might be able to determine the size of the core, its temperature, whats made out of and whether it’s in a liquid or solid state. Also by drilling the mission will gather important information on the structure of the mantle and thickness of the crust. All of this information is valuable to learning how rocky planets are formed but also vital to the success of future missions to Mars.
Also launching on the same rocket is the Mars Cube One or MarCO experiment. This mission will test CubeSat Technology in deep space. The CubeSats main purpose is testing communication and navigation for future Mars missions but they will be able to help with Insights communication as well.
I am really looking forward to this mission and what new things we will learn about Mars because of it. The infographic below has a complete overview of the mission.
You can watch the launch on NASA Television or the agency’s website starting at 3:30 am Pacific time on May 5th.
To learn more please visit our friends at NASA.
