NASA’s InSight Lander in Spacecraft’s Back Shell

In this photo, NASA's InSight Mars lander is stowed inside the inverted back shell of the spacecraft's protective aeroshell. It was taken on July 13, 2015, in a clean room of spacecraft assembly and test facilities at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, during preparation for vibration testing of the spacecraft.

InSight, for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is scheduled for launch in March 2016 and landing in September 2016. It will study the deep interior of Mars to advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth.

The InSight Project is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin is building and testing the spacecraft. InSight is part of NASA's Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.