What is InSight?
InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4.5 billion years ago. It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core. (NASA)
Successful landing on Mars:
According to NASA, InSight touched down on Mars at 11:52:59 a.m. PT (2:52:59 p.m. ET) on Nov. 26, 2018. The lander plunged through the thin Martian atmosphere, heatshield first, and used a parachute to slow down. It fired its retro rockets to slowly descend to the surface of Mars, and land on the smooth plains of Elysium Planitia. See the first image sent by InSight, below-
Image: Artist's Concept of InSight Lander on Mars (Courtesy: NASA)
The first image of Mars taken by NASA's InSight-
This photo is the first image of Mars taken by NASA's InSight Mars lander after its successful landing on the plains of Elysium Planitia on Nov. 26, 2018. The dust seen in the image is on a dust cover protecting the camera. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Instruments
The InSight Lander’s three primary instruments, SEIS, HP3, and RISE, take the first-ever in-depth look at the planet's “inner space.”
SEIS- to measure the pulse of Mars
HP3- Taking Mars' temperature
RISE-Testing Mars' reflexes.
