Installing the InSight Spacecraft Parachute Cone

In this photo, spacecraft specialists at Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, are reaching up to guide lowering of the parachute cone for installation onto NASA's InSight spacecraft. The photo was taken on April 29, 2015.

InSight's parachute, stowed inside the cone, will provide deceleration in the Martian atmosphere. Its role will come after atmospheric friction with the spacecraft's heat shield provides initial deceleration and before thrusters on the lander provide final deceleration.

InSight, for Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is scheduled for launch in March 2016 and landing in September 2016. It will study the deep interior of Mars to advance understanding of the early history of all rocky planets, including Earth.

Note: After thorough examination, NASA managers have decided to suspend the planned March 2016 launch of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The decision follows unsuccessful attempts to repair a leak in a section of the prime instrument in the science payload.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19669