Q&A with Giulio Ranzo, CEO of Avio (members only)

NASA officials have determined that the robotic InSight lander is ready for its mission to Mars after concluding that the probe should not suffer the same flaw that led to a crack in a heat shield undergoing tests for the space agency’s Mars 2020 rover, InSight’s chief scientist said Monday.

An Indian satellite built as a technological testbed for mobile communications successfully launched Thursday on top of a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, one of 10 space missions planned by India by the end of the year.

NASA is moving forward with a crucial test-firing of the core stage of the first Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket as soon as Jan. 17 after engineers were satisfied with the results of a fueling test last month.