NASA's next low-budget planetary mission will land a probe on Mars in 2016 to study why the Red Planet went down such a different evolutionary path than Earth did, the agency announced today (Aug. 20).

The new mission, called InSight, will attempt to determine whether Mars' core is liquid or solid, and why the Red Planet's crust does not appear to be composed of drifting tectonic plates like Earth's is. Such information could help scientists better understand how rocky planets form and evolve, researchers said.

"InSight will get to the 'core' of the nature of the interior and structure of Mars, well below the observations we've been able to make from orbit or the surface," John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

A low-cost Mars mission
InSight — short for Interior exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport — is the latest of NASA's Discovery-class missions, and its cost will be capped at $425 million in 2010 dollars (excluding the launch vehicle). [Mars InSight Lander Mission Revealed (Gallery)]

The mission will be led by Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Insight is slated to launch in March 2016 and put a lander on Mars in September of that year to begin its two-year science mission.

The lander will carry four instruments, which will determine Mars' rotation axis and measure the seismic waves and heat flowing through and from the planet's interior. The craft will also sport a robotic arm and two cameras, researchers said.

Insight beat out two other finalists to become NASA's 12th Discovery-class mission. The other two contenders were Comet Hopper, which would have landed on a comet multiple times to study how the body changed on its trip around the sun, and the Titan Mare Explorer, or TiME.

TiME would have dropped onto the methane-ethane seas of Saturn's huge moon Titan, providing the first direct exploration of an ocean beyond Earth.

All three finalists offered great scientific potential, officials said. But InSight builds on technology used in NASA's Phoenix lander mission, which confirmed the presence of subsurface water ice near the Martian north pole in 2008.

That heritage — along with key contributions on science instruments from the French and German space agencies — helped swing the decision InSight's way, convincing NASA that the mission could stay within its relatively low budget.

9 Comments

1. 1. Windontree 12:28 PM 8/21/12

   no contest. TiME is so much more compelling than another Mars project.

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2. 2. RSchmidt in reply to Windontree 12:41 PM 8/21/12

   Is that because we know everything there is to know about Mars? Regardless, perhaps they can do your favourite project too.

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3. 3. geojellyroll 01:25 PM 8/21/12

   There wasn't really a choice between these 3 projects. The Mars mission is the only one that is reasonable within the NASA budget.
   
   hint...with an almost 16 trillon dollar debt, everything for decades in Amerian space exploration is going to be 'all about the dollars'. The cookie jar is overflowing with IOUs.

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4. 4. enozo 06:28 PM 8/21/12

   @geojellyroll,
   
   This is untrue. All the three missions proposed were capped at $425 M.
   Orbital mechanics meant that this would be the last chance to launch a Titan lake lander that could send its finding directly to Earth without an expensive relay craft. There are multiple opportunity to launch a mission to Mars.
   NASA is turning itself into MASA (Mars Atmosphere and Surface Administration) and it's painful to watch. The disproportion of funds allocated to Mars is disconcerting. In a period of budget cuts, after just spending $2.5 B on a great rover to Mars and after having cancelled all the proposed Titan, Europe, Enceladus or outer planets missions, the last thing we need is yet another Mars mission. Especially when there are other Mars orbiters and rovers already planned. Especially when the alternative was both inexpensive and much more compelling.
   
   ESA seems to have much much more variety in their missions. They might not have the same technical capabilities, but they more than make up for it with a vastly more scientific, non Mars obsessed approach.
   
   This is one of the darkest MASA days since SIM cancellation.

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5. 5. geojellyroll 07:07 PM 8/21/12

   "This is untrue. All the three missions proposed were capped at $425 M."
   
   Huh...?
   
   Since when in Hades did 'capping' a cost bring NASA within budget? Wake up. it's 2112 and not 2002 ...another 1.1 trillion added to the debt this year.
   
   NASA could not do a Titan mission within their budget and accomplish anything. It would be an empty spacecraft.
   
   Yes, I too would prefer the Titan mission but the credit card is maxed out. All of those who put their head in the sand are going to see the negative consequences of adding another $3,000 per capita debt just this year. U.S. scientific infrastructure is going to be decimated.

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6. 6. enozo 07:22 PM 8/21/12

   @geojellyroll,
   
   All the missions proposed were Discovery Class Missions:
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Program
   
   They all had very similar cost. That is the point, this was an inexpensive mission.
   You are misinformed and you are probably confusing Titan Mare Explorer with the much more expensive Titan Saturn System Mission that included a Titan orbiter (postponed /cancelled).
   
   In fact the official MASA reason for the cost was that " InSight provided the lowest technical and budgetary risk".
   That's not surprising since the instruments are mature and the lander itself is a near copy of the successful Mars Phoenix lander. However, please note the circularity of the argument : since MASA spends so much more money on Mars missions, it is obvious that they are better at going there then anywhere else.

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7. 7. jahtez 10:38 AM 8/23/12

   I'm curious, when the orbits of Mars and Earth have them on opposite sides of the Sun, do we lose communications with our instruments there, or is there a relay spacecraft?
   

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8. 8. savvov 01:02 PM 8/23/12

   By the way this problem " The new mission, called InSight, will attempt to determine whether Mars' core is liquid or solid, and why the Red Planet's crust does not appear to be composed of drifting tectonic plates like Earth's is. Such information could help scientists better understand how rocky planets form and evolve, researchers said ". The Dynamic model of the globe has elementary solved a site www...-

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9. 9. debu 07:08 AM 8/24/12

   Same observation as on earth. Focus of gravitoethertons or dark energy at center of mars causing extreme heat and molten core and if it is iron ,we may find magnetism also. Read balloon inside balloon theory.

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