“NASA’s InSight lander” Detects Massive Quakes on Mars

What is the News? NASA’s InSight lander detects two strong quakes on Mars. The lander is a part of NASA’s InSight mission to Mars, launched in 2018.

About NASA’s InSight Mission 

• InSight is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport. It is a NASA Mission.
• The Mission aims to study the deep interiors of Mars. It is the first program to analyze the interior of the Red Planet, beneath its surface i.e. its crust, mantle, and core.
• Part of: InSight mission is part of NASA’s Discovery Program (1992).
  • Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions. NASA funds these missions through its Planetary Missions Program Office.

About InSight Mission Lander:

1. NASA launched the lander under NASA’s InSight mission in 2018.
2. Purpose: It is a robotic lander designed to study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all celestial bodies with rocky surfaces, including Earth and the Moon, formed.
3. Manufactured by: The lander was manufactured by Lockheed Martin Space Systems. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages it. Further, European agencies built most of its scientific instruments.
4. Scientific Instruments: The scientific instruments used for the mission are:
   • seismometer for detecting quakes;
   • sensors for gauging wind and air pressure;
   • magnetometer and a heat flow probe designed to take the planet’s temperature.

Source: Hindustan Times