NASA delays launch of Mars InSight lander
Posted: Thu, Dec 24, 2015, 6:12 PM ET (2312 GMT)
NASA announced Tuesday that it was delaying the launch of its Mars InSight lander mission, previously planned for March, until at least mid-2018 because of problems with one of its key instruments. NASA said continued problems with one of the lander's main instruments, a seismometer supplied by the French space agency CNES, would prevent the mission from launching in March. The instrument experienced a series leaks in its vacuum chamber that would have kept it from working once on Mars, and NASA decided that, after the latest leak was found in testing Monday, the instrument could not be ready in time for launch. The next launch window is in May 2018, but NASA said it would study potential solutions to the instrument problem and their costs before making a decision on when, or even if, to launch the mission.
NASA announced Tuesday that it was delaying the launch of its Mars InSight lander mission, previously planned for March, until at least mid-2018 because of problems with one of its key instruments. NASA said continued problems with one of the lander's main instruments, a seismometer supplied by the French space agency CNES, would prevent the mission from launching in March. The instrument experienced a series leaks in its vacuum chamber that would have kept it from working once on Mars, and NASA decided that, after the latest leak was found in testing Monday, the instrument could not be ready in time for launch. The next launch window is in May 2018, but NASA said it would study potential solutions to the instrument problem and their costs before making a decision on when, or even if, to launch the mission.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
US and UK militaries conduct coordinated satellite maneuvers
Posted: Sun, Sep 21 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT) Blue Origin retires a New Shepard capsule after payload flight
Posted: Sun, Sep 21 8:25 AM ET (1225 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Friday, October 10
NASA and Blue Origin are about to launch two spacecraft to Mars
BBC — 7:17 am ET (1117 GMT) U.S. Space Force Sets Next SDA Launch For Oct. 14
Aviation Week — 7:13 am ET (1113 GMT) JD Vance Should Take the Moon Shot
National Review — 7:12 am ET (1112 GMT) Kazakhstan’s first woman space tourist returns to Earth
Kursiv Media — 7:10 am ET (1110 GMT) First Kazakh Woman in Space Returns to Earth on Blue Origin Flight
The Times of Central Asia — 7:09 am ET (1109 GMT) |
