NASA To Get "Insight" Into Mars' Core
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) -- NASA is going to Mars again, this time with the first spaceship dedicated to digging deep below the surface to find out what's shaking on the red planet.
InSight is scheduled to launch May 5 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on an Atlas V 401 rocket. The launch window opens at 4:05 a.m. PT (7:05 a.m. ET).
NASA chief scientist Jim Green said this launch will be special.
"When we go, we go straight south, underneath the South Pole, come up on the other side of the Earth and then take this mean left and head on out to Mars," said Green.
It will be the first NASA mission launched to another planet from the West Coast, and it'll be visible to millions in Southern California from Santa Maria to San Diego. NASA's previous interplanetary missions were launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
If it all goes as planned, after a six-month journey, the 790-pound probe will land on November 26, joining five other NASA spacecraft operating on and above Mars.
"It's a lander, not a rover, and it will deploy a variety of instruments down onto the ground. Once the Insight's globe is on the surface, it can take the most sensitive seismic measurements ever made on another planet. We're going to measures Mars' quakes," said Green.
Green said some of the information gathered from Mars will help them learn about other planets, including Earth.
"What we'll learn from the Mars quakes, of course, is the size of the core, the mantle, and the crust. These are the basic parts of the Earth. So we'll be able to compare and understand how terrestrial planets are put together at the very early stage of the solar system's development," said Green.
InSight will also use its radio system to measure the wobble of Mars' north pole to help scientists learn more about the shape of the planet.
InSight's primary mission is for two years, but if all goes well it could be extended.
This new NASA spaceship won't be going alone to Mars. Two suitcase-size spacecraft will be launched on the same rocket. They will trail behind InSight and will orbit Mars as part of a NASA experiment to see whether they can be used to relay data back to Earth.
(©2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)