NASA Approves 2018 Launch of New Mars Mission, JPL Will Manage Project

Jet Propulsion Laboratory will work in conjunction with France’s space agency to redesign an instrument of a spacecraft that previously failed before its scheduled take-off on a mission to study Mars’ deep interior.

The InSight mission, which was scrapped last December due to a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument, has been rescheduled to launch in May 2018 and touchdown on Mars in November, according to a statement released by NASA to the media. Its goal was to help scientists understand the evolution and formation of rocky planets.

The tool that malfunctioned — called the SEIS instrument — is designed to measure ground movement as small as half of the radius of a hydrogen atom and requires a perfect vacuum seal around its three main sensors in order to resist the Red Planet’s rigid weather, according the statement.

Scientists with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will focus on redesigning, developing and qualifying the SEIS’ evacuated container and the electrical feedthroughs that failed previously while CNES, France’s space department, will be responsible for integrating its sensors into the container, according to media release.

“Our robotic scientific explorers such as InSight are paving the way toward an ambitious journey to send humans to the Red Planet,” said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, in the press release. “It’s gratifying that we are moving forward with this important mission to help us better understand the origins of Mars and all the rocky planets, including Earth.”

According to NASA, he budget for the original InSight mission was $675 million. The two-year delay and instrument-redesign project tacked on another $154 million, which may impact the budget for future missions in fiscal years 2017-2020

“We’ve concluded that a replanned InSight mission for launch in 2018 is the best approach to fulfill these long-sought, high-priority science objectives,” said Jim Green, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division in the media release.

CNES President Jean-Yves Le Gall agreed with Green, adding that learning about Mars’ internal structure is of great significance to the scientific community.

“This confirmation of the launch plan for InSight is excellent news and an unparalleled opportunity to learn more about the internal structure of the Red Planet, which is currently of major interest to the international science community,” he said in the released statement.