{"id":18257,"date":"2018-11-26T17:36:44","date_gmt":"2018-11-26T09:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasas-insight-lander-touches-down-on-mars-and-sends-gloriously-gritty-pictures\/"},"modified":"2018-11-26T17:36:44","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T09:36:44","slug":"nasas-insight-lander-touches-down-on-mars-and-sends-gloriously-gritty-pictures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasas-insight-lander-touches-down-on-mars-and-sends-gloriously-gritty-pictures\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s InSight lander touches down on Mars and sends gloriously gritty pictures"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"First
At NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., InSight project manager Tom Hoffman reacts to the first image from the Mars InSight lander after its touchdown. (NASA Photo \/ Bill Ingalls)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

REDMOND, Wash. \u2014 NASA\u2019s Mars InSight lander touched down on a heavenly Martian plain Monday, marking the first successful landing on the Red Planet in more than six years.<\/p>\n

\u201cTouchdown confirmed! InSight is on the surface of Mars,\u201d mission commentator Christine Szalai declared just before noon PT at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, the lander sent back its first image, showing a wide expanse of flat terrain as seen through a dirt-flecked lens cover.<\/p>\n

The touchdown came after a nearly seven-month, 300 million-mile interplanetary cruise from Earth, capped by \u201cseven minutes of terror\u201d during which the InSight spacecraft had to slow down from an entry velocity of more than 12,000 mph. The craft\u2019s heat shield helped the lander withstand temperatures as high as 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. To slow down further, the lander had to pop off its aeroshell, deploy its parachute, and then activate its 12 descent thrusters.<\/p>\n

Each step along the way was monitored nervously at JPL, with updates delayed by the eight-minute light travel time between Earth and Mars. Mission controllers erupted in joy when the crucial confirmatory signals were received via two nanosatellites that monitored the descent as they flew by.<\/p>\n

Applause erupted as well at Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s facility here in Redmond, birthplace of the thruster system that helped the three-legged lander set down on Elysium Planitia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a long way to go for a ride, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Scott Kimbrel, Aerojet Redmond\u2019s chief engineer for propulsion systems, said after touchdown.<\/p>\n

Ken Young, general manager of Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s Redmond facility, said the landing was \u201clike Christmas Day for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our eighth landing on Mars, and every one of them has had our propulsion system,\u201d Young told reporters.<\/p>\n

\"Mars
Mars InSight\u2019s first picture from the surface shows a flat plain extending to the horizon, with a reddish sky above. Bits of dirt are spread over the lens cover. (NASA \/ JPL-Caltech Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence watched NASA\u2019s coverage of the landing. \u201cThey are overwhelmingly proud of everything that has gone on today,\u201d Bridenstine said during a post-landing news conference in Pasadena.<\/p>\n

Pence, who chairs the White House\u2019s National Space Council, passed along congratulations via Twitter. \u201cTruly a monumental achievement!\u201d he wrote. And Trump referred to the landing during a campaign rally in Mississippi. \u201cWe have reawakened NASA, and that\u2019s a good thing,\u201d he said, employing a bit of political hyperbole.<\/p>\n

The first picture of the Martian surface was relayed back to Earth by one of the MarCO nanosatellites that accompanied InSight during its cruise to Mars. It showed a wide-angle view of the vista in front of the landing site, and drew a fresh round of cheers in Pasadena when it was put up on the screens at JPL\u2019s Mission Control.<\/p>\n

Bits of debris from the landing obscured the view. \u201cIt\u2019s nice and dirty,\u201d the InSight mission\u2019s principal investigator, Bruce Banerdt, told reporters at the news conference. Despite the dirt, a piece of Martian rock, the lander\u2019s footpad and the bolts holding a dust cover over the lens could be seen in the frame. Pictures from that camera were expected to be clearer once the dust settled and the lens cover was removed.<\/p>\n

Hours later, JPL reported that InSight\u2019s solar arrays had successfully deployed, and that its batteries were charging as expected. The InSight team also passed along another picture, taken by a different camera that\u2019s mounted on the lander\u2019s robotic arm. The view is clearer, and shows the deck of the lander as well as Elysium Planitia in the background:<\/p>\n