The three-legged InSight spacecraft reached the surface after being slowed by a parachute and braking engines, the space agency said. Updates were coming in via radio signals that take more than eight minutes to cross the nearly 100 million miles between Mars and Earth.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A NASA spacecraft designed to burrow beneath the surface of Mars landed on the red planet Monday after a six-month, 300 million-mile journey and a perilous, six-minute descent through the rose-hued atmosphere.
Flight controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, leaped out of their seats and erupted in screams, applause and laughter as the news came in. People hugged, shook hands, exchanged high-fives, pumped their fists, wiped away tears and danced in the aisles.
“Flawless,” declared JPL’s chief engineer, Rob Manning.
“This is what we really hoped and imagined in our mind’s eye,” he said. “Sometimes things work out in your favor.”
A pair of small satellites trailing InSight since their May liftoff provided practically real-time updates of the spacecraft’s supersonic descent through the reddish skies. The satellite also shot back a quick photo from Mars’ surface.
The image was marred by specks of debris on the camera cover. But the quick look at the vista showed a flat surface with few, if any, rocks — just what scientists were hoping for. Much better pictures will arrive in the hours and days ahead.
