NASA's Mars InSight is on its way to the Red Planet to explore the unseen interior of our neighbor and listen for "Marsquakes." The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Martian lander successfully lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California at 4:05 a.m. Pacific Time Saturday.
Mars InSight, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is NASA's first interplanetary mission to leave from the west coast of the US.
Liftoff of @NASAInSight on a @ulalaunch #AtlasV https://t.co/polaWZXIvW pic.twitter.com/PdXuhTFhWQ
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) May 5, 2018
The lander will spend at least two years "listening" to the interior of Mars as it measures the planet's subsurface heat and detects Marsquakes. The goal is to develop a map of sorts of the planet's interior and hopefully gain insights into the formation of other rocky planets, including Earth.
The Atlas 5 carrying InSight also carries a pair of experimental cubesats called MarCo and nicknamed "Wall-E" and "Eva" that will tag along to Mars. All three spacecraft took off on a southward path that carries the rocket over the Pacific Ocean, around the south pole toward the other side of the planet before making a left turn toward Mars.
While the rocket's ascent towards space should have been visible from much of southern California and even parts of Mexico, fog on the ground made it difficult to catch a glimpse of the Atlas V without being above the foggy marine layer. Still, some sky watchers and space nerds did manage to get up early and find a fog-free vantage point.
@NASAInSight over @riversidecagov this morning.#NASA #InSight pic.twitter.com/jOZYlyQAEp
— Kipp Smith (@kippsmith) May 5, 2018
It’s a launch, Jim, but not as we know it.
— RobertPearlman (@RobertPearlman) May 5, 2018
Despite being 4 miles from the pad with a direct line of sight, there was absolutely no seeing #InSight as it left Earth for Mars. Sound, yes, but otherwise nothing but pea soup. Eeriest and weirdest launch I have ever, err, seen. pic.twitter.com/LnulRzLflG
At about 93 minutes after launch, or around 5:38 a.m. PT, Mars Insight, Wall-E and Eva will separate from the Centaur upper stage engine of the Atlas V. At this point they will officially be on their own and on the way to our neighboring planet.
InSight is scheduled to land on a broad plain named Elysium Planitia in November. Be sure to check out the full details of the Mars InSight mission in our earlier coverage and the video above.
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