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Lockheed Martin Completes Assembly of NASA’s InSight Mars Lander

Next Mission to Mars Starts Critical Environmental Testing

Date: Issue 62 - June 2015

Lockheed Martin has assembled NASA’s InSight Mars spacecraft, which is now undergoing environmental testing at the company’s Space Systems facilities near Denver. InSight is NASA’s next mission to Mars and will be the first mission devoted to understanding the interior structure of the planet.

InSight will endure the extreme vibration and noise of launch, a long journey through the vacuum and cold of deep space and the gauntlet of entry through the Martian atmosphere before beginning operations on the surface. Because of the extreme environments the spacecraft will encounter during its mission, the lander will undergo a variety of rigorous tests that will ensure it can survive the journey.