NASA’s InSight Mars Lander Mated to Atlas V Booster, Ready for May 5 Launch: Photos

At Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA's InSight, Mars lander is positioned atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on April 23, 2018. Photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold

Ken Kremer  --   SpaceUpClose.com  --   1 May 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  NASA's InSight Mars lander and the Atlas V booster that will propel NASA’s mission to study the deep interior of the Red Planet have been mated and stand ready for liftoff from their California launch base later this week on Saturday, May 5, or Cinco De Mayo. Final prelaunch activities have begun.

InSight has been encapsulated inside the payload fairing that will protect it from frictional and atmospheric forces and been hoisted and bolted atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket inside the gantry at Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Check out this gallery of photos of the final processing steps to ready InSight for blastoff to Mars.

NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars Lander is transported to Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Daniel Herrera

Liftoff of NASA’s InSight lander is slated for May 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket.  The first ever cubesats launching to the Red Planet are also aboard. 

The May 5 launch window extends for two hours and opens at 4:05 a.m. PDT (7:05 a.m. EDT) and remains open through 6:05 a.m. PDT (9:05 a.m. EDT). The overall launch window to the Red Planet lasts until June 8.

Technicians and engineers position NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars Lander atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Photo credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Leif Heimbold

At Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V booster is lifted for positioning on the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 3. The rocket will launch NASA's InSight spacecraft for its trip to Mars.  Credit: NASA/Randy Beaudoin

Launch week activities have begun !

“Mission and launch officials gathered Monday for the InSight flight readiness review,” NASA reported today, May 1.

“Prelaunch activities continue today as launch team members take part in a countdown dress rehearsal.”

Testing continued on NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, spacecraft on inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base in early March 2018.  Credit: USAF 30th Space Wing/Alex Valdez

The landing is scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018 at Elysium Planitia.

The goal of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission is to accomplish an unprecedented study of the deep interior of the most Earth-like planet in our solar system.

“InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring the planet's heat output.”

Illustration of NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) Mars lander.  Credits: NASA

InSight was designed and manufactured by prime contractor Lockheed Martin and is responsible for testing, launch processing and spacecraft flight operations.

The two stage rocket was assembled by ULA technicians inside the Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) at SLC-3a and stands 188 feet (57.3 meters) tall. 

The rocket was assembled inside the Vertical Integration Facility at SLC-3. InSight underwent final processing at the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg AFB after shipment from Lockheed Martin’s Denver manufacturing facility.

It will be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from Vandenberg AFB – although there is no technical advantage or added throw weight to launch from California vs. Florida.

The 1,530 pounds (694 kilograms) spacecraft consists of the lander, aeroshell and cruise stage.

The lander has a mass of about 790 pounds (358-kilograms), the aeroshell 418-pounds (189-kilograms) and the cruise stage is 174-pounds (79-kilograms) as well as 148 pounds (67 kilograms) of loaded propellant and pressurant.

Each of the two MarCO cubesat spacecraft has a mass of 30 pounds (13.5 kilograms).

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer - ken at kenkremer.com

InSight Lander Solar Array Test.  While in the landed configuration for the last time before arriving on Mars, NASA's InSight lander was commanded to deploy its solar arrays to test and verify the exact process that it will use on the surface of the Red Planet. During the test on Jan. 23, 2018 from the Lockheed Martin clean room in Littleton, Colorado, engineers and technicians evaluated that the solar arrays fully deployed and conducted an illumination test to confirm that the solar cells were collecting power.  Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin