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Animation of the InSight Spacecraft Lander

July 27, 2017

Animation of the Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander deploying its instruments on the surface of Mars.

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An artist's rendering of a rocket launching with the InSight spacecraft in May.
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An artist's rendering of a rocket launching with the InSight spacecraft in May.
InSight Launching to Mars
MarCO-B, one of the experimental Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats, took this image of Mars from about 4,700 miles (7,600 kilometers) away during its flyby of the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018. MarCO-B ...
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MarCO-B, one of the experimental Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats, took this image of Mars from about 4,700 miles (7,600 kilometers) away during its flyby of the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018. MarCO-B was flying by Mars with its twin, MarCO-A, to attempt to serve as communications relays for NASA’s InSight spacecraft as it landed on Mars.
Farewell to Mars
One of InSight's 7-foot (2.2 meter) wide solar panels was imaged by the lander's Instrument Deployment Camera, which is fixed to the elbow of its robotic arm.
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One of InSight's 7-foot (2.2 meter) wide solar panels was imaged by the lander's Instrument Deployment Camera, which is fixed to the elbow of its robotic arm.
InSight Images a Solar Panel
French engineers developed and built a quake-detecting device - a seismometer - to send to Mars as part of the NASA InSight mission. Project manager Philippe Laudet of CNES, the French space agency...
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Inside InSight - A Mars Explorer and a Musician
Inside InSight: A Mars Explorer and a Musician
NASA's spacecraft on Mars are all affected by the winds of the Red Planet, which can produce a tiny dust devil or a global dust storm. 
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NASA scientists explain their study of wind on Mars (NASA Mars Report June 22, 2022)
Mars Report: How Scientists Study Wind on Mars
The InSight Team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, in June 2015.
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The InSight Team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, in June 2015.
The InSight Team at JPL
Clouds drift over the dome-covered seismometer, known as SEIS, belonging to NASA's InSight lander, on Mars.
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Clouds drift over the dome-covered seismometer, known as SEIS, belonging to NASA's InSight lander, on Mars.
Clouds Over SEIS
Joel Steinkraus, MarCO lead mechanical engineer from JPL, makes an adjustment on the CubeSat prior to integration in a deployment box as seen inside the cleanroom lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on...
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An engineer makes an adjustment on the CubeSat.
Preparing MarCO
An artist's rendition of the InSight lander operating on the surface of Mars.
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An artist's rendition of the InSight lander operating on the surface of Mars.
InSight on the Surface of Mars
A C-17 cargo aircraft carrying NASA's InSight spacecraft flew from Buckley Air Force Base, Denver, to Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on February 28, 2018. The spacecraft was being shipped f...
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military transport aircraft in flight
C-17 Shipping InSight Mars Spacecraft to Vandenberg Air Force Base
While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on ...
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While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet.
InSight Lander Solar Array Test
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, right, is presented a plaque by JPL Director Michael Watkins during a tour of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The...
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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, right, is presented a plaque by JPL Director Michael Watkins during a tour of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Saturday, April 28, 2018 in Pasadena, California. The plaque presents a view of the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity on the surface of Mars.
Vice President Pence Tours Jet Propulsion Laboratory
This map shows the temperature of the Martian atmosphere 16 miles above the surface. The data were taken on Nov. 18, 2018, by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, about one week before NASA's InSigh...
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This map shows the temperature of the Martian atmosphere 16 miles above the surface. The data were taken on Nov. 18, 2018, by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, about one week before NASA's InSight lander is scheduled to touch down on the Martian surface.
Martian Weather Forecast for InSight Landing
This infographic shows how InSight uses a seismometer and quakes to study the inner layers of Mars. Seismic signals from quakes change as they pass through different kinds of materials; seismologis...
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This infographic shows how InSight uses a seismometer and quakes to study the inner layers of Mars. Seismic signals from quakes change as they pass through different kinds of materials; seismologists can “read” the squiggles of a seismogram to study the properties of the planet’s crust, mantle, and core.
How InSight Studies Mars' Inner Layers
Technology can take you to unexpected places. The MarCO cubesats, flying towards Mars with InSight, are breaking new ground on how far these small satellites can go.
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Technology can take you to unexpected places. The MarCO cubesats, flying towards Mars with InSight, are breaking new ground on how far these small satellites can go.
Worlds of Wonder
What’s the latest news from Mars? A global dust storm is starting to settle, but still obscures the Martian surface; Curiosity turns six and drills a new rock sample; InSight is more than halfway t...
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What’s the latest news from Mars? A global dust storm is starting to settle, but still obscures the Martian surface; Curiosity turns six and drills a new rock sample; InSight is more than halfway to Mars and has tested its instruments and cameras.
Mars Report: August 2018
Nous savons à quoi ressemble la planète rouge de l'extérieur — mais que se passe-t-il sous la surface de Mars? Découvrez-le dans cette vidéo de 60 secondes du centre Jet Propulsion Laboratory de la...
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Nous savons à quoi ressemble la planète rouge de l'extérieur — mais que se passe-t-il sous la surface de Mars? Découvrez-le dans cette vidéo de 60 secondes du centre Jet Propulsion Laboratory de la NASA.
Mars in a Minute: (French) Qu'y a-t-il à l'intérieur de Mars?
Interact with this 3D model of InSight.
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3D model of InSight
InSight Lander, 3D Model
In this artist's concept of NASA's InSight lander on Mars, layers of the planet's subsurface can be seen below and dust devils can be seen in the background.
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In this artist's concept of NASA's InSight lander on Mars, layers of the planet's subsurface can be seen below and dust devils can be seen in the background.
A Cutaway of InSight on Mars
InSight is lining up to land on Mars. The trip from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars is 6-and-a-half minutes of sheer terror.
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InSight is lining up to land on Mars. The trip from the top of the atmosphere to the surface of Mars is 6-and-a-half minutes of sheer terror.
Arrival
ForeSight, a fully functional, full-size model of NASA's InSight lander, grasps a model of the lander's Wind and Thermal Shield while engineer Maggie Williams looks on. This testing was done at NAS...
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ForeSight, a fully functional, full-size model of NASA's InSight lander, grasps a model of the lander's Wind and Thermal Shield while engineer Maggie Williams looks on. This testing was done at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
ForeSight's Grapple
Artist's concept of the interiors of Earth, Mars and Earth's moon.
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Artist's concept of the interiors of Earth, Mars and Earth's moon.
Artist's Concepts: Earth - Mars - Moon
Time lapse video of the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) "mole" probing to depth in a test.
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Time lapse video of the HP3 'mole'
Time lapse of the HP3 'mole'
Viewers on the West Coast may be able to see NASA's Mars InSight lander launch with its destination in sight. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will be washed out by the Moon this month, but some meteo...
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Viewers on the West Coast may be able to see NASA's Mars InSight lander launch with its destination in sight.
What's Up May 2018
NASA's InSight lander placed its seismometer on Mars on Dec. 19, 2018. This was the first time a spacecraft robotically placed a seismometer onto the surface of another planet.
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The seismometer is the copper-colored object in this image, which was taken around Martian dusk.
SEIS Deployed on Mars

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