NASA has selected the Insight mission, a low-cost robotic lander, to explore the Martian core, scheduled for launch in 2016. This decision, made by NASA's Discovery program, was based on the mission's potential to stay within a budget of $425 million and meet scheduling requirements. The choice has sparked criticism from scientists advocating for missions to other celestial bodies, such as Saturn's moon Titan and a comet. NASA sciences chief John Grunsfeld emphasized that the Insight mission presented the best opportunity for success compared to the other proposals.
PREREQUISITESAstronomers, planetary scientists, space mission planners, and anyone interested in the exploration of Mars and its geological characteristics.
The space agency decided Monday to launch a relatively low-cost robotic lander in 2016 to check out what makes the Martian core so different from Earth's. NASA's Discovery program picked a project called Insight over missions to a Saturn moon and a comet, drawing complaints from scientists who study other places in our solar system that NASA is too focused on Mars. All three proposed missions were good, but the Mars one showed the best chance of making it within budget and on schedule, said NASA sciences chief John Grunsfeld. The missions cost no more than $425 million.