InSight Approaching Mars

The InSight spacecraft approaches Mars in this artist’s concept.

Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, is a Mars lander that probes the planet’s deep interior to shed light on the evolution of Mars and the rocky planets of the solar system.

There are six phases in the InSight mission: Pre-Launch, Launch, Cruise, Approach, Landing and Surface Operations. The approach phase begins about 60 days before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere and prepares the spacecraft for landing.

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages InSight for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The InSight spacecraft, including its cruise stage and lander, was built and tested by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver.

For more information about the mission, go to: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight.