Watch NASA engineers track the harrowing landing of a spacecraft on Mars today

This afternoon, NASA will attempt to land its latest spacecraft — a vehicle called InSight that will sit on the planet’s surface and listen for quakes over the next two years — on Mars. But first, it must survive a harrowing descent to the ground. NASA plans to use multiple spacecraft around Mars to confirm that InSight lands intact.

Once the lander hits the top of Mars’ atmosphere, it will perform a complicated multistep landing routine that will last between six and seven minutes. During the first phase, InSight will free-fall through the atmosphere using a heat shield for protection as the surrounding air slams into the spacecraft, heating it up to temperatures of 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. The atmosphere will slow the lander...

Continue reading…