Events

The public is invited to the New Horizons Theater to watch as NASA’s InSight spacecraft touches down on Mars. Activities begin at noon in the theater, with museum education staff presentations on the spacecraft and its mission. InSight, which stands for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, launched on May 5, 2018, and is expected to land at roughly 12:53 MST November 26. The activity is free to the public.

“This spacecraft is quite different than those that have landed on Mars before. It’s the first mission to study the interior of the planet and learn about its crust, mantle and core,” said Museum Executive Director Christopher Orwoll. InSight is NASA’s first spacecraft to land on the red planet since 2012, when Curiosity set down.

According to NASA, the lander uses cutting edge instruments, to delve deep beneath the surface and seek the fingerprints of the processes that formed the terrestrial planets. It does so by measuring the planet’s “vital signs”: its “pulse” (seismology), “temperature” (heat flow), and “reflexes” (precision tracking).