InSight – Page 5 – Spaceflight Now

Two ‘microprobes’ to accompany InSight lander to Mars

June 14, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA managers have formally approved the launch of two small CubeSat-based satellites with the InSight Mars lander next year, adding an experimental data relay capability to give ground controllers news about the landing’s outcome.

Crunch time: Next Mars lander enters final year before launch

March 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

Wednesday marked one year until the launch of a NASA seismic station to Mars, and scientists believe they have found a suitable operating post for the lander as engineers race to keep the mission on schedule for liftoff in a narrow 26-day window next March.

New Mars lander takes shape

November 17, 2014 Spaceflight Now

The next Mars lander — a platform to drill beneath the surface of the red planet — has begun its assembly phase in preparation for launch in March 2016.