The NASA lander that studied Mars’s deep interior after landing in 2018 was InSight.
InSight touched down on Mars on November 26, 2018, at Elysium Planitia. Unlike rovers such as Curiosity and Perseverance, it was a stationary geophysical laboratory. Its mission focused on understanding Mars’s internal structure and the early evolution of rocky planets, including Earth.
The lander carried SEIS, a highly sensitive seismometer designed to detect marsquakes, and HP3, a heat-flow probe intended to measure heat escaping from below the surface. It also used radio tracking to study tiny changes in Mars’s rotation. These observations helped scientists estimate the size and structure of the planet’s crust, mantle, and core.
InSight is sometimes confused with Phoenix because both used a similar lander design, but Phoenix studied soil and water ice near Mars’s north polar region. InSight’s mission ended in December 2022 after dust-covered solar panels could no longer provide enough power. Its seismic records continued to inform research about Mars’s interior and geological history.