NASA Mars mission launch date REVEALED: Find out when NASA is going to Mars

When will NASA  launch to Mars?

The InSight Mars mission is pencilled in for multiple launch window opportunities between May 5 and June 8, 2018.

During this one month period, the rocket will have several chances for two hour-long launch windows per day.

Thankfully for rocket enthusiasts, the first opportunity for liftoff will present itself at noon BST (4am PST) on May 5. 

NASA will launch InSight towards Mars from the Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central coast of California.

Blasting off form Launch Complex 3 in the pre-dawn hours, InSight will be mounted onboard a monstrous Atlas V-410 rocket.

The Atlas V is one of the biggest rockets capable of interplanetary flight and was previously used to deliver NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2005.

Regardless of when the rocket leaves Earth, NASA has calculated the Atlas V will reach the Red Planet on November 26, 2018.

What is NASA’s InSight mission to Mars?

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is NASA’s state of the art Mars lander designed to explore the planet below its surface.

For the first time in a staggering 4.5 billion years, humans will have the opportunity to look below Mars’ mantle and study in-depth what goes on below the planet’s barren landscapes.

NASA said: “Studying Mars' interior structure answers key questions about the early formation of rocky planets in our inner solar system – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars – more than 4 billion years ago, as well as rocky exoplanets. 

“InSight also measures tectonic activity and meteorite impacts on Mars today.

“The lander uses cutting edge instruments, to delve deep beneath the surface and seek the fingerprints of the processes that formed the terrestrial planets.

“It does so by measuring the planet's "vital signs": its "pulse" (seismology), "temperature" (heat flow), and "reflexes" (precision tracking).”

According to NASA, the first scientific goal of the mission is it understand the formation and evolution of Mars.

The second goal of the launch is to determine the level of tectonic activity the planet undergoes. 

The US space agency said scientists have a lot of evidence suggesting Mars undergoes earthquakes much like Earth, but not since the Viking mission has any space agency recorded any concrete proof.

The findings of the mission will also help scientists back on Earth better understand how volcanoes have formed across the planet’s surface. 

How to watch the NASA InSight launch to Mars

Although the first launch window is still a month away, all NASA launch commentary and news briefings will be streamed live online on NASA’s dedicated streaming service NASA TV.

NASA TV streams can be found online on YouTube, Ustream and NASA.gov/live.

Additional NASA live feeds and online streams surrounding Mars, can be found in the “Watch Online” section of Mars.NASA.gov.

NASA also teased that as soon as the InSight spacecraft separates from the second stage of its rocket, the public will be able to track its path towards Mars Mars in real-time through NASA’s Eyes on the Solar System, right here.