Tag: InSight
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InSight Mars Lander completes assembly ahead of 2016 launch
The next NASA lander to touch down on the surface of Mars is picking up the pace ahead of its launch on an Atlas V rocket next March. The latest milestones saw the lander deploy its solar arrays inside a Denver clean room at Lockheed Martin, marking the completion of the lander’s assembly as it…
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Crunch time: Next Mars lander enters final year before launch
Artist’s concept of the InSight lander on Mars. Credit: NASA Wednesday marked one year until the launch of a NASA seismic station to Mars, and scientists believe they have found a suitable operating post for the lander as engineers race to keep the mission on schedule for liftoff in a narrow 26-day window next March.…
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Lockheed Martin enter ATLO phase for Mars InSight lander
Following last week’s dramatic exploits of Rosetta’s Philae lander on the surface of a comet, another lander – destined for the surface of Mars – is being born at Lockheed Martin. NASA’s InSight Mars lander spacecraft has started its assembly, test and launch operations (ATLO) phase – ahead of its March, 2016 launch atop of an Atlas…
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New Mars lander takes shape
The next Mars lander — a platform to drill beneath the surface of the red planet — has begun its assembly phase in preparation for launch in March 2016. “Reaching this stage that we call ATLO is a critical milestone,” said InSight Project Manager Tom Hoffman at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. “This…
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InSight into NASA’s next Mars lander
This past week, NASA announced the approval of construction of the Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars lander. Set to launch in 2016, InSight will study Mars’ interior structure and pave the way for an eventual manned mission to the Red Planet. Following Phoenix:InSight, to be constructed by Lockheed Martin, features…