NASA’s InSight mission to Mars approved for spring 2018 launch

Artist’s conception of InSight on the surface of Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s conception of InSight on the surface of Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s InSight mission to Mars will now go ahead as planned, it was announced today. After a delay due to a vacuum leak last December, with a launch originally slated for last March, it was unclear whether the mission would still be given the green light for a later launch. But now NASA has approved a launch for spring 2018.

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NASA’s InSight mission to Mars suspended due to vacuum leak in critical seismometer instrument

Artist’s conception of the InSight lander on Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s conception of the InSight lander on Mars. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA officially announced at a media teleconference yesterday that the InSight mission to Mars has now been postponed, for at least two years, due to a leak in a seismometer instrument which cannot be repaired in time for the planned launch in March 2016. The lander had just been delivered to Vandenberg Air Force Base on Dec. 16 to be prepared for launch when the announcement was made.

Read MoreNASA’s InSight mission to Mars suspended due to vacuum leak in critical seismometer instrument

Mars Cube One: new deep-space CubeSats will travel to Mars along with InSight lander

Artist’s conception of the MarCO CubeSats flying past Mars as the InSight lander descends to the surface. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s conception of the MarCO CubeSats flying past Mars as the InSight lander descends to the surface. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The next NASA mission to Mars, the InSight lander, will include some additional experimental technology: the first deep-space CubeSats. Two small CubeSats will fly past the planet as the lander is descending through the atmosphere; this will be the first time CubeSats have been used in an interplanetary mission.

Read MoreMars Cube One: new deep-space CubeSats will travel to Mars along with InSight lander