Mars InSight in Photos: NASA's Mission to Probe Core of the Red Planet

Pressure Sensor Inlet

This illustration shows InSight's pressure sensor inlet (in blue), after the wind and thermal shield has been deployed. The shield will be placed over InSight's seismometer on the ground on Mars.

First Photo

NASA's InSight Mars lander captured its first image just moments after touching down on the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018.

InSight Launches through Fog

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight Mars lander lifts off from a pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT/1105 GMT) on May 5, 2018.

Flame and Fluff

The rocket engines flare brightly as the Atlas-V rocket carries NASA's InSight lander away to begin the first leg of its journey to Mars.

Mass Celebration

Throughout Mission Support employees cheer and carouse, celebrating the successful landing of the Mars' InSight lander on the Martian surface on Nov. 26, 2018.

Success!

More celebration in JPL Mission Control.

Tracking the Spacecraft

Looking forward to the touchdown on Mars, monitors at NASA's JPL show the status of NASA's Deep Space Network before InSight lands on the Red Planet on Nov. 26, 2018.

Ready for the Party

In preparation of the successful landing on Mars, a jar of "good-luck peanuts" has made its way into the Mission Control Area at NASA's JPL. This tradition began in 1964 during the Ranger 7 mission in the JPL's Space Flight Operations Facility.

Welcome Accolades

On Nov. 26, 2018, Vice President Mike Pence offers NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine congratulations on the successful landing of the Mars' InSight lander. The $993 million unmanned lander will study the crust, mantle and core of the Red Planet.

Atlas V and Mars InSight on the Launchpad

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight Mars lander stands atop its launchpad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California ahead of its planned May 5, 2018 launch to the Red Planet.