ILLINOIS, United States (AFP) – The NASA suspended the launch Mars mission InSight , scheduled for March 2016, for problems with a key scientific component, said on Tuesday the US space agency.
The lander was designed to explore beneath the surface of Mars in order to find out how rocky planets of the solar system formed. The next favorable launch window for the mission will be in two years.
The problematic component is a seismometer provided by the CNES of France (CNES), and was designed to measure earth movements as small as the diameter of an atom.
“The decision on the next steps will be taken in the coming months, but one thing is clear: NASA remains committed to scientific discovery and exploration of Mars,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for scientific missions of NASA.
The mission of the Transportation of Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat (InSight for its acronym in English) spacecraft is scheduled to pierce the surface of Mars to study its interior, according to NASA in 2014 .
The mission will investigate how Earth-like planets formed and developed the internal structure of its core, mantle and crust, and collect information about the interior areas using instruments that have never before been used on Mars .
The mission will help inform the Agency of its intention to send a manned mission to Mars in 2030.
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