VIDEO OF THE DAY: NASA’s InSight Mars Mission – Countdown to T-Zero

By  //  May 4, 2018

ABOVE VIDEO: Insight, NASA’s next Mars explorer, has arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California – a big step forward in the countdown to T-zero on May 5.

(NASA) – NASA’s next mission to Mars, Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport (InSight), is scheduled to launch Saturday, May 5, on a first-ever mission to study the heart of Mars.

Coverage of prelaunch and launch activities began Thursday, May 3, on NASA Television.

InSight, the first planetary mission to take off from the West Coast, is targeted to launch at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT) from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket.

Launching on the same rocket is a separate NASA technology experiment known as Mars Cube One (MarCO).

MarCO consists of two mini-spacecraft and will be the first test of CubeSat technology in deep space. They are designed to test new communications and navigation capabilities for future missions and may aid InSight communications.

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NASA TV and online mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern)

Saturday, May 5

6:30 a.m. – Launch coverage begins.

7:05 a.m. – Launch time

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