page_title: InSight
section_title: Discovery Program selection
hierarchical_section_title: InSight / History / Discovery Program selection
caption_attribution_description: English: PIA19666: Lowering Back Shell onto Stowed InSight Lander http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19666 In this photo, the back shell of NASA's InSight spacecraft is being lowered onto the mission's lander, which is folded into its stowed configuration. The back shell and a heat shield form the aeroshell, which will protect the lander as the spacecraft plunges into the upper atmosphere of Mars. The photo was taken on April 29, 2015, in a spacecraft assembly clean room at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver. InSight, for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is scheduled for launch in March 2016 and landing in September 2016. It will study the deep interior of Mars to advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth. The InSight Project is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
context_page_description: The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport mission is a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of the planet Mars. It was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and most of its scientific instruments were built by European agencies. The mission launched on 5 May 2018 at 11:05 UTC aboard an Atlas V-401 rocket and successfully landed at Elysium Planitia on Mars on 26 November 2018 at 19:52:59 UTC. InSight traveled 483 million km during its journey.
  InSight's objectives are to place a seismometer, called SEIS, on the surface of Mars to measure seismic activity and provide accurate 3D models of the planet's interior; and measure internal heat flow using a heat probe called HP³ to study Mars' early geological evolution. This could bring a new understanding of how the Solar System's terrestrial planets – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars – and Earth's Moon form and evolve.
  The lander was originally planned for launch in March 2016. An instrument problem delayed the launch beyond the 2016 launch window.
context_section_description: InSight was initially known as GEMS (Geophysical Monitoring Station), but its name was changed in early 2012 following a request by NASA.  Out of 28 proposals from 2010, it was one of the three Discovery Program finalists receiving $3 million in May 2011 to develop a detailed concept study.  In August 2012, InSight was selected for development and launch.  Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with participation from scientists from several countries, the mission was cost-capped at $425 million, not including launch vehicle funding.
  By reusing the landing system designed for the Mars Phoenix lander, which successfully landed on Mars in 2008, mission costs and risks were reduced.
caption: InSight comes together with the backshell and surface lander being joined, 2015.
exif: {}