NASA Will Launch Its First Mission To Mars To Study The Red Planet’s Interior On 5 May

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)‘s first ever mission to study Mars’ deep interiors is due to launch soon. The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander will take off on 5 May from the Space Launch Complex-3 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a United Launch Atlas V rocket, making it among the few space missions in the United States to take off from the Pacific Coast. Most of the country’s space missions take off from the Kennedy Space Centre at Florida, along the Atlantic Coast.

Along with InSight, NASA will also launch its MarsCubeOne or MarsCO satellites – cube satellites that will aid in communications for future missions.

InSight’s equipment will include a seismometer to detect quakes on the red planet as well as a probe to test the flow of heat. The launch window is 5 May to 5 June with a planned landing on Mars on 26 November.

The launch will take place using a Centaur rocket stage that will kick off during the third stage of the rocket. It will reignite an hour and 19 minutes post launch to place InSight into a Mars-bound interplanetary orbit.

InSight and the MarsCo satellites will take off on 5 May 2018 at 7.05 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) – 4.35 pm Indian Standard Time (IST).