Happy Landing

InSIGHTFUL: This morning, we got our acts together and then made our way to the Museum of Flight at about 10:30.

We wanted to be there for a watch party for the landing of NASA's newest Mars spacecraft, InSight.  We snagged front row seats upon arrival. Soon after, it became a standing-room-only event. NASA's official coverage began at 11 a.m.

There were watch parties all over the globe, including in New York City's Times Square.

The lead photo, at the top of the post, was taken from the Space Shuttle Trainer payload bay, before the throngs arrived.  As touch-down time (noon) arrived, the viewing area became lots more crowded.

Ask any rocket scientist, and they'll tell you, Mars is hard. There's so much that can go wrong between here and there, as Jet Propulsion Laboratory chief engineer Rob Manning explains in this video all about atmospheric entry, descent, and landing of InSight.


InSight isn't a rover. Rather, it will stay in one place and do its science. Its primary mission is to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky surfaces, including Earth and the Moon, were formed. InSight's instruments include a seismometer to detect "marsquakes" and a probe to monitor the flow of heat in the planet's subsurface.

These "Mars in a Minute" videos explain more about its mission. 


In the NASA photo below, taken on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Jet Propulsion Laboratory InSight principal investigator Bruce Banerdt shares info about InSight's mission.

There were dozens of people in mission control this morning. But I couldn't help but watch 
Mars InSight team members Kris Bruvold, left, and Sandy Krasner, right, most closely.

Bruvold was positively percolating in his seat, and muttering 'oh my god' under his breath. 

Krasner, right, looked *so* nervous. I pointed out to Christian that the man's hand was shaking at one point. As InSight made its final descent, in the last 100 meters, Krasners' chin started quivering uncontrollably, and he was blinking back tears. That made me cry. So yeah, I cry at Mars landings. I'm not the only one!

Just minutes later, the first image from InSight appeared on Mission Control's screen!

In the foreground, Tom Hoffman, InSight Project Manager, NASA JPL, reacts to seeing it. The speckles are dust on the fish eye camera lens. At the top of the image, you can see the horizon, and the sky above the Martian soil.

Per an email I received from JPL tonight, data indicates InSight's solar arrays are open and batteries are charging. The transmission also included this view from the instrument deployment camera, showing the seismometer (left), grapple (center) and robotic arm (right). What wonderful news!

All in all, what a wildly entertaining morning!

We're so glad we went to the watch party!

I couldn't help but notice this Carl Sagan quote on the wall of the space gallery as we departed.