Mars InSight blasts off from air base to check on 'Marsquakes'

The 794-pound lander, built by Lockheed Martin, is set to touch down on November 26 after a six-month cruise and a six-minute re-entry and descent

Forty-two years ago, the US landed its first Mars probe on the red planet. Ever since Viking I touched down, NASA has sent a series of increasingly sophisticated rovers and orbiters to study our neighbour’s features and atmosphere.

But that’s all been skin deep. None of those craft has ever gotten very far beneath the surface.

On Saturday, NASA launched a machine designed to study Mars at a much more fundamental level, helping to fill large gaps in scientists’ understanding of the planet’s geologic structure, composition and seismic activity.

Mars InSight, scheduled to land later this year, is the first NASA mission to