Preparing NASA’s InSight for Space Simulation Testing

In this photo, a spacecraft specialist prepares NASA's InSight spacecraft for thermal vacuum testing in the flight system's "cruise" configuration for its 2016 flight to Mars. The testing simulates conditions of outer space that InSight will experience during its flight. The photo was taken on May 29, 2015, in a clean room of spacecraft assembly and test facilities at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

InSight, for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is scheduled for launch in March 2016 and landing in September 2016. It will study the deep interior of Mars to advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth.

The InSight Project is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin is building and testing the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.