A Nasa spacecraft is poised to blast off for Mars.
The Mars InSight lander is set to launch on Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
When our InSight lander launches in pursuit of Mars tomorrow, it won’t be traveling alone. There will be two tiny companions hitching a ride to the Red Planet on a very different mission.
Get to know MarCO: https://t.co/1CBQ30vmkq pic.twitter.com/yo50JMr6GN
— NASA (@NASA) May 5, 2018
It is the first interplanetary mission to take off from the West Coast of the US.
It will take more than six months for the lander to reach Mars and start its unprecedented geologic excavations.
How did rocky planets like Mars & Earth form? Our @NASAInSight lander launches to the Red Planet tomorrow at 7:05am ET to search for answers to this question by measuring the planet’s “vital signs:”. Get the details: https://t.co/G83ffMccFW pic.twitter.com/A7aWOk1479
— NASA (@NASA) May 4, 2018
Instruments on the lander will dig deeper into Mars than ever before – nearly 16 feet – to take the planet’s temperature.
It will also attempt to make the first measurements of Marsquakes, using a seismometer placed directly on the Martian surface.
Want to watch a spacecraft launch to Mars? Set your alarm and join us for the 7:05am ET liftoff of our @NASAInSight lander! Live coverage will begin at 6:30am with all the details about this mission to take the Red Planet’s ‘vital signs’: https://t.co/oJKHgKpQjH Qs? Use #askNASA pic.twitter.com/z7CyQBY3kR
— NASA (@NASA) May 5, 2018
The Atlas V (five) rocket also holds a pair of mini-satellites meant to trail the spacecraft all the way to Mars.