[meteorite-list] NASA Suspends 2016 Launch of InSight Mission to Mars

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4805

NASA Suspends 2016 Launch of InSight Mission to Mars
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
December 22, 2015

After thorough examination, NASA managers have decided to suspend the 
planned March 2016 launch of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations 
Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The decision follows unsuccessful 
attempts to repair a leak in a section of the prime instrument in the 
science payload.

"Learning about the interior structure of Mars has been a high priority 
objective for planetary scientists since the Viking era," said John Grunsfeld, 
associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. 
"We push the boundaries of space technology with our missions to enable 
science, but space exploration is unforgiving, and the bottom line is 
that we're not ready to launch in the 2016 window. A decision on a path 
forward will be made in the coming months, but one thing is clear: NASA 
remains fully committed to the scientific discovery and exploration of 
Mars."

The instrument involved is the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure 
(SEIS), a seismometer provided by France's Centre National d'Études Spatiales 
(CNES. Designed to measure ground movements as small as the diameter of 
an atom, the instrument requires a vacuum seal around its three main sensors 
to withstand the harsh conditions of the Martian environment.

"InSight's investigation of the Red Planet's interior is designed to increase 
understanding of how all rocky planets, including Earth, formed and evolved," 
said Bruce Banerdt, InSight Principal Investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion 
Laboratory, Pasadena, California. "Mars retains evidence about the rocky 
planets' early development that has been erased on Earth by internal churning 
Mars lacks. Gaining information about the core, mantle and crust of Mars 
is a high priority for planetary science, and InSight was built to accomplish 
this."

A leak earlier this year that previously had prevented the seismometer 
from retaining vacuum conditions was repaired, and the mission team was 
hopeful the most recent fix also would be successful. However, during 
testing on Monday in extreme cold temperature (-49 degrees Fahrenheit/-45 
degrees Celsius) the instrument again failed to hold a vacuum.

NASA officials determined there is insufficient time to resolve another 
leak, and complete the work and thorough testing required to ensure a 
successful mission.

"It's the first time ever that such a sensitive instrument has been built. 
We were very close to succeeding, but an anomaly has occurred, which requires 
further investigation. Our teams will find a solution to fix it, but it 
won't be solved in time for a launch in 2016," said Marc Pircher, Director 
of CNES's Toulouse Space Centre.

The spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, was delivered to Vandenberg 
Air Force Base in California, on Dec. 16. With the 2016 launch canceled, 
the spacecraft will be returned from Vandenberg to Lockheed's facility 
in Denver.

The relative positions of the planets are most favorable for launching 
missions from Earth to Mars for only a few weeks every 26 months. For 
InSight, that 2016 launch window existed from March 4 to March 30.

"In 2008, we made a difficult, but correct decision to postpone the launch 
of the Mars Science Laboratory mission for two years to better ensure 
mission success," said Jim Green, director, Planetary Science Division, 
in Washington. "The successes of that mission's rover, Curiosity, have 
vastly outweighed any disappointment about that delay."

NASA is on an ambitious journey to Mars that includes sending humans to 
the Red Planet, and that work remains on track despite Tuesday's decision. 
Robotic spacecraft are leading the way for NASA's Mars Exploration Program, 
with the upcoming Mars 2020 rover being designed and built, the Opportunity 
and Curiosity rovers exploring the Martian surface, the Odyssey and Mars 
Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft currently orbiting the planet, along 
with the MAVEN orbiter, which recently helped scientists understand what 
happened to the Martian atmosphere.

NASA and CNES also are participating in the European Space Agency's (ESA's) 
Mars Express mission currently operating at Mars and plans to participate 
on ESA's 2016 and 2018 ExoMars missions, including providing telecommunication 
radios for ESA's 2016 orbiter and a critical element of a key astrobiology 
instrument on the 2018 ExoMars rover.

"The JPL and CNES teams, and their partners, have made a heroic effort 
to prepare the InSight instrument, but have run out of time given the 
celestial mechanics of a launch to Mars," said JPL Director Charles Elachi. 
"It is more important to do it right than take an unacceptable risk."

InSight's science payload includes two key instruments: SEIS, provided 
by CNES, and the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3), provided 
by the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

SEIS was built with the participation of the Institut de Physique du Globe 
de Paris (IPGP) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), with 
support from the Swiss Space Office and the European Space Agency PRODEX 
program; the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), supported 
by DLR; Imperial College, supported by the United Kingdom Space Agency; 
and JPL.

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EST today to provide 
details on the agency's decision. Briefing participants are:

-- John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate 
at NASA Headquarters in Washington

-- Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters

-- Marc Pircher, CNES director

-- Philippe Laudet, CNES project manager for SEIS

-- Bruce Banerdt, InSight principal investigator, JPL

To participate in the teleconference by phone, media must email their 
name, media affiliation and phone number to Karen Northon at karen.northon at nasa.gov 
by 3:30 p.m.

NASA will audio stream the teleconference live at:

http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

For more information about NASA's Mars programs visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-overview


Media Contact

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo 
NASA Headquarters,Washington 
202-358-1726 / 202-358-1077
dwayne.c.brown at nasa.gov / laura.l.cantillo at nasa.gov 

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-354-6278
guy.w.webster at jpl.nasa.gov

Julien Watelet
Media Manager du CNES
Tel. 01 44 76 78 37 / port. 06 88 06 11 48 
julien.watelet at cnes.fr

2015-385