Instrument Malfunction Causes NASA To Suspend Next Mars Mission

NASA’s planetary missions have been on a roll of late, led by the mini-armada of Curiosity, Opportunity, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – all of which continue their scrutiny of the Red Planet.

The critical variable for InSight will be the cost of fixing SEIS, and storing the craft at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver – where it was built – for roughly two years.

InSight arrived last week at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to begin preparations ahead of a launch targeted for March 18.

The InSight spacecraft was planned to be launched to study the evolution of rocky planets, including Earth. This was repaired and the instrument was declared fit for flight, but when it was tested on Monday in extreme cold reaching minus 49º F (-45º C), the seal failed again.

According to the U.S. space agency, a leak earlier this year that had prevented the seismometer from retaining vacuum conditions was repaired, but after the final sealing of the instrument, another leak was detected. The officials determined that the time is limited to fix such a leak. “Space exploration is unforgiving”, noted John Grunsfeld, who heads NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, “and the bottom line is that we’re not ready to launch in the 2016 window”.

The name InSight is short for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.

InSight carries four other instruments and a monitoring camera.

By studying seismic activity, NASA hopes to be able to determine the boundaries of the crust, mantle, and core of the planet.

The cancellation raises questions about the future of the research effort, as it will be another two years before Earth and Mars are favorably aligned for a launch. Director of planetary science Jim Green put the total cost of the mission at $675 million, but so far budgeting has only been for $525 million.

WASHINGTON (AP) – NASA has called off its next Mars mission because of a leak in a science instrument.

“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”.

Researchers plan to grow potatoes in Mars-like conditions simulated on Earth, in a major step towards building a controlled dome on the red planet capable of farming the invaluable crop. The European Space Agency is still on track to launch its ExoMars orbiter next March, and send out an ExoMars rover in 2018.

This mission was supposed to shoot for the sky in March 2016. ExoMars, a joint undertaking of ESA and Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, involves launches in both 2016 and 2018.