InSight

InSight

The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission was a robotic lander made to study the deep inside of the planet Mars. It was created by Lockheed Martin Space and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Two of its science tools were built by European agencies. InSight showed that Mars still has an active interior by finding "marsquakes."

InSight launched on May 5, 2018, and landed at Elysium Planitia on Mars on November 26, 2018. It worked on Mars for 1,440 sols, which is about 4 years and 19 days. Its main jobs were to place a seismometer, called Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), to measure shaking on Mars, and to study the planet's inside heat using a heat probe called HP³. This helped scientists learn how Mars and other rocky planets like Earth, Venus, and Mercury formed.

The mission was meant to launch in March 2016, but a problem with one of its instruments made it delay. NASA rescheduled the launch for May 2018, and the instrument was fixed. Because of this delay, the total cost went up from US$675 million to US$830 million.

InSight stopped talking to Earth on December 15, 2022, after dust on its solar panels made it hard to get power. NASA officially ended the mission on December 21, 2022.

History

Discovery Program selection

InSight was first called GEMS, short for Geophysical Monitoring Station. In 2012, its name was changed to InSight. In 2010, 28 ideas were sent to NASA. InSight was one of three ideas chosen to get more money for planning. In August 2012, InSight was picked to be built and sent to space. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed the mission, with help from scientists around the world. The mission cost US$425 million, not including the rocket to launch it.

The team used parts from the Phoenix lander, which landed on Mars in 2008. This helped save money and make the mission safer.

Schedule issues

Lockheed Martin started building InSight on May 19, 2014, and began testing it on May 27, 2015.

A problem with an important instrument called SEIS made NASA delay the launch from March 2016 to May 2018. While InSight was waiting, the rocket that was supposed to launch it was used for another mission instead.

NASA said on March 9, 2016, that InSight would launch in 2018 instead, costing about US$150 million more. The new plan was to launch on May 5, 2018, and land on Mars on November 26, 2018. The rocket for the launch would be an Atlas V from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory had to fix the SEIS instrument, and CNES helped with testing it.

On November 22, 2017, InSight finished tests that copied conditions in space. On January 23, 2018, after being stored for a while, its solar panels were put back and tested. A special chip with 1.6 million names from people around the world was added to the lander.

Effects of Martian dust and end of operations

InSight used solar panels and batteries for power. It needed wind to clean the dust off its panels. The place where InSight landed, Elysium Planitia, did not get enough wind to keep the panels clean. In February 2021, InSight’s solar panels were working at only 27% of their normal power because of thick dust. NASA turned off some instruments to save power and keep the lander warm. They hoped conditions would get better and InSight could start working fully again in July 2021. In May 2021, they used the lander’s arm to place sand on the panels, hoping the wind would clean them.

In May 2022, NASA decided there was too much dust on the panels to keep the mission going. InSight was put into a low-power mode to watch for seismic events. NASA kept checking on InSight until the end of 2022, but the lander stopped communicating after missing two chances to send messages.

Science background

Seismic vibrations

Both Viking spacecraft carried tools to measure vibrations. The tool on Viking 1 did not work well. The Viking 2 tool worked and sent data to Earth, but it was sometimes hard to know what caused the vibrations. The vibrations might have come from Mars or just from wind.

Scientists used the data from Viking 2 to guess how thick Mars' outer layer is. They also found some vibrations that might have been from Mars shaking, but they were not sure. Later, tools left on the Moon by Apollo missions helped scientists learn more about the Moon's inside.

One big goal of the InSight mission was to compare what we know about shaking on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. On 4 May 2022, InSight detected a big shake on Mars, about as strong as a magnitude 5 earthquake on Earth.

On 25 October 2023, scientists using data from InSight reported that Mars might have a layer of molten rock under its surface.

Objectives

The InSight mission landed on Mars to study its deep inside. This helped scientists learn how rocky planets like Earth and Mars formed long ago.

InSight aimed to find out about Mars by studying the size, thickness, and structure of its core, mantle, and crust. It also measured the heat that comes from inside the planet. The mission looked for seismic activity, studied heat flow, and checked if Mars's core is liquid or solid. It also studied how meteorite impacts affect Mars, which can teach us about similar processes on Earth. In 2021, InSight discovered that Mars has a smaller core than we thought before, helping us learn more about how planets form.

2024 groundwater discovery

See also: Groundwater on Mars

In August 2024, scientists found a large pool of liquid water deep inside Mars. They learned about it by studying data from NASA's Mars InSight Lander. The lander listened to vibrations, or "Mars quakes," for four years. These vibrations helped scientists discover water hidden about six to 12 miles below the surface.

The water is trapped in tiny cracks and spaces in the rocks. If all this water could be brought to the surface, it might be enough to cover the whole planet with a layer about 1 mile deep.

Design

The InSight mission used a design from an earlier Mars lander called Phoenix. InSight used solar panels for power, so it landed near Mars's equator to get lots of sunlight. It was designed to stay on Mars for two years, which is one full Martian year. The mission had two small satellites called Mars Cube One that flew with InSight to help send data back to Earth.

InSight had three main parts: the cruise stage that carried it through space, the system that helped it land on Mars, and the lander itself that stayed on the surface.

InSight made electricity with two large solar panels. These panels unfolded like fans after landing. The lander carried tools to study Mars's inside. It had a sensitive machine to feel vibrations, a probe that went into the ground to measure heat, and a tool that used radio signals to learn about Mars's core. These tools helped scientists learn how Mars was made and how it changed over time.

Journey to Mars

Launch

On 28 February 2018, InSight was flown from a building in Denver to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on a big airplane called a C-17. It was launched into space on 5 May 2018 and landed on Mars on 26 November 2018.

The launch was managed by NASA's Launch Services Program. InSight was supposed to launch in March 2016, but had to wait until 2018 because of a problem with one of its instruments.

The trip to Mars took 6.5 months and covered a distance of 484 million kilometers (301 million miles).

Cruise

After launching, InSight traveled through space for 6.5 months, covering 484 million kilometers (301 million miles), before landing on Mars on 26 November 2018.

During its journey, InSight made several changes to its path to make sure it would reach Mars safely. It had solar panels, an antenna, and other tools to help it stay working during the trip. A few hours before reaching Mars, InSight separated from the part that carried it through space.

Entry, descent, and landing

On 26 November 2018, InSight landed on Mars at a place called Elysium Planitia. After landing, it took three months to set up its science tools and start studying Mars.

InSight weighed 1,340 pounds (608 kilograms) when it entered Mars' atmosphere. Landing on Mars happened in three main steps:

• Entry: InSight entered Mars' atmosphere inside a special shell that protected it.
• Parachute descent: A parachute slowed InSight down as it got closer to the ground.
• Rocket descent: Near the ground, InSight used rockets to slow down even more before landing.

After landing, InSight unfolded its solar panels and started sending information back to Earth.

Further information: Mars atmospheric entry, Mars landing, and List of artificial objects on Mars

Landing site

InSight landed in a flat, open area called Elysium Planitia. This place was chosen because it had enough sunlight, was flat and had few rocks, and had soft ground for InSight's heat probe to work well.

The landing site was picked after looking at many possible places. It is located about 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of where the Curiosity rover was working.

Surface operations

On 26 November 2018, NASA said the InSight lander landed safely on Mars. The weather tools and magnetometer worked right away. It took about three months to set up the science tools. After landing, the lander settled, warmed up its solar panels, and opened them. It checked its systems, took pictures, and rested for its first night on Mars. On its first day there (called a "sol"), it set a record for solar power used in one day.

InSight recorded the sounds of Martian winds for the first time on 7 December 2018. On 19 December 2018, a special tool to measure vibrations was placed on the surface by a robot arm. In April 2019, InSight detected its first marsquake. In September 2019, it found unusual magnetic pulses and changes. By February 2020, studies showed that Mars has active quakes, dust storms, and magnetic pulses. In early 2021, InSight tried to detect another landing but did not sense it, which helped scientists learn more about Mars.

In April 2021, InSight had to rest because its solar panels were covered in dust from Mars. It woke up soon after and used its robot arm to place sand next to a panel, which helped clean it a little. In July 2021, scientists learned that Mars has a molten center and a thinner crust than expected. In January 2022, a big dust storm made InSight go into a resting state, but it resumed work later. By May 2022, it had recorded over 1,300 marsquakes. The mission ended in late 2022 because dust covered the solar panels too much.

In August 2024, new looks at the vibration data found a deep pool of liquid water in Mars's outer layer.

Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package

On 28 February 2019, a tool called the mole started trying to dig into Mars's surface. It was supposed to go down about 5 metres but only made it about 0.35 metres before stopping. Scientists tried many ways to help it dig deeper, like using the lander's arm to push on the soil, but the soil did not give enough grip for the mole to move further. By January 2021, they stopped trying to make it dig deeper. Although it did not reach its goal, the mole gave scientists useful information about Mars's soil and how to dig there.

MarCO spacecraft

Main article: Mars Cube One

The Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft are two small satellites that flew with the InSight mission. Their job was to test if tiny satellites could work far from Earth and help send messages during InSight's landing. Named MarCO A and B, these satellites were launched with InSight but split off soon after. They flew past Mars and sent InSight's messages back to Earth. This showed that small satellites could be used for future space missions. They stopped sending messages in February 2019.

Team and participation

The InSight mission brought together scientists and engineers from many countries and organizations. The science team included experts from the U.S., France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom.

W. Bruce Banerdt, the project scientist for the Mars Exploration Rover, led the InSight mission. Suzanne Smrekar focused on the heat flow instrument, while William Folkner led the RISE experiment. Philippe Lognonné and Tilman Spohn were the main scientists for the other two instruments.

Major groups that helped with the mission included National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), German Aerospace Center (DLR), Italian Space Agency (ASI), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA/JPL), Lockheed Martin, Paris Institute of Earth Physics (IPGP), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETHZ), Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Imperial College London, Institut supérieur de l'aéronautique et de l'espace (ISAE-SUPAERO), University of Oxford, Spanish Astrobiology Center (CAB), and Space Research Centre of Polish Academy of Sciences (CBK).

Name chips

NASA asked people to send their names to Mars on the InSight spacecraft. Over two sign-ups, more than 2.4 million names were collected. In 2015, 826,923 names were added, and in 2017, another 1.6 million names were added. These names were etched onto tiny silicon wafers, with letters very small—only 1⁄1000 the width of a human hair. The first chip with names was placed on InSight in November 2015, and the second chip was added in January 2018.