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MEXICO: Rovers on Mars have drilled, hammered and dug into the surface of the red planet – but so far, none have been able to get very far.
That’s may all change in September 2016, when Nasa’s newest mission to the red planet, InSight, arrives on the alien world in the hope of digging deep beneath its surface.
Testing is now underway on the lander, which is about the size of a car and will be the first mission devoted to understanding the interior structure of the red planet.
Examining the planet’s deep interior could reveal clues about how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved.
The current testing will help make sure InSight can work in and survive deep space travel and the harsh conditions of the Martian surface.
The spacecraft will lift off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and land on Mars about six months later.
The technical capabilities and knowledge gained from Insight, and other Mars missions, are crucial to Nasa’s journey to Mars, which includes sending astronauts to the red planet in the 2030s.
