NASA InSight to Mars takes off on may 5th

Mars mission InSight lander to Mars was launched via Atlas V 401 launcher from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Below are few facts:

• InSight is also known as Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.
• It will take six-and-a-half-month to reach Mars. InSight will travel 300m miles and land on Mars on a broad plain Elysium Palitia on Nov 26, 2018.
• The mission aims to monitor marsquakes, map the planet’s interior and probe the temperature of the core.
• It will start geological excavations. It will dig deeper into Mars than ever before – about 5 metres – to record the planet’s temperature.
• InSight is the eighth lander to Mars sent by NASA so far.
• However, InSight is the first spacecraft to Mars to learn about the planet’s interiors.  It seeks to answer science’s one of the most fundamental questions: How did the terrestrial planets form?
• NASA had invited people all around the world to register for this Mars mission. The InSight Probe contains a microchip that stores all the names of participants who have registered their name on NASA’s website.
• The participants have a boarding pass which will contain their name, boarding number and other details like the launch site, launch date, etc. Though one din’t fly for real, their names have become part of InSight.
• NASA has given boarding pass to 2,429,807 names out of which 1,38,899 are from India (1).
• If you have missed to register with InSight, click here to register in the future missions.

What is?

Seismic: Relating to earthquakes or other vibrations of the earth and its crust.

Geodesy: The branch of mathematics dealing with the shape and area of the earth or large portions of it.

Terrestrial: On or relating to the earth.

Things to do

Quiz: How well do you know our solar system?

1.Which is the planet named after Roman god of war?

• Uranus , Mars, Neptune

2.Which are the four terrestrial planets?

3.How much would a 150-pound person weigh on Mars?

• 174 pounds, 57 pounds, 102 pounds

4. About how long is a day on Saturn?

• 24 hours, 10 hours 47 minutes, 4 hours 57 minutes

5.Name the two moons of Mars and what does it mean?

6.Which planet has the highest mountain and deepest valley in the solar system?

• Mars, Venus, Earth

7. What’s the highest measured wind speeds at Neptune?

• 350mph, 450mph, 1500mph

8. Which planet has largest dust storms?

• Mars, Earth, Jupiter

9. Which planets are called ‘Gas Giants’

10. Name any two dwarf planets

Answers:

1. Mars
2. Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
3. 57 pounds
4. 10 hours 47 minutes
5. Phobos & Deimos, which translate to Fear and Dread, respectively.
6. Olympus Mons on Mars is over 72,000 feet in height, making it the tallest mountain by far on any planet in the solar system.
7. 1500 mph
8. Mars
9. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
10. Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake & Eris