InSight lander arrives on Mars

Photo from NASA.

We have a new robot on Mars.

After a multi-month voyage through space, NASA's InSight lander arrived safely on the Red Planet on Monday afternoon, Chicago time. There was the customary and nail-biting span of silence as the lander dropped through the thin atmosphere, but all turned out just fine. Soon after landing, InSight transmitted its first photo from Mars, showing a shot through a lens speckled with dust from the landing. This prompted someone online to cry, "See? Life on Mars! Flies!"

Heh. He was kidding. I think.

Not much more than a day later, we got far clearer photos. The one posted above is example of such.

InSight, short for "Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport," will eventually drill 16 feet into the surface of Mars. Over a two year period, it will complete the first 3D scan of the planet's interior. That, to me, is fascinating. Why, do you ask? Well, there are several reasons.

-If nothing else, appreciate the achievement of engineering that this is. Many smart people worked hard, used their minds to solve problems creatively, and made an astounding technical triumph. This, I believe, is an example of humanity at its best.

-Don't care about Mars or space science? Well, I might not be able to understand you, but I respect the opinion. Rest assured however, the efforts undertaken and the lessons learned in the InSight achievement will in time filter down to you, the consumer. It inevitably does with space technology,

-The more we understand Mars, the more we have to work with in terms of colonization. Yes, yes, I am aware of the difficulties and the innumerable naysayers. That's cool. I'm used to naysayers. I still believe that technological progress will one day allow for us to establish settlements on Mars. Knowledge gleaned from the InSight mission may help us better understand how to use the natural resources already available on the planet to create a sustainable community.

Hey. Elon Musk is hellbent on it.

-I'm curious what, if any, findings there may be as to large bodies of water beneath the surface of Mars. And life? Maybe? Would they tell us if they found it?

Ahhh were I a younger, free-wheelin' man, I might wonder if they'd like a writer on Mars.

Oh who am I kidding? I'd be in wonder for about ten minutes, and then writerly bitterness would no doubt settle back in.

A guy sitting in a cardigan with a laptop in one hand and a martini in the other probably wouldn't be of much help in the colony. Might even inspire a little resentment. 


Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets