The InSight Lander would carry three instruments to the surface of Mars to take the first-ever in-depth look at the planet's "vital stats": its pulse, or internal activity, as measured by the SEIS instrument; its temperature as measured by the HP3 instrument; and its reflexes as measured by the RISE instrument. Together, the data would provide essential clues about the evolution of not just Mars, but also all the terrestrial planets.
SEIS: To capture Mars' pulse, or its internal activity, InSight would carry a seismometer called SEIS to the surface of the Red Planet. SEIS would take precise measurements of quakes and other internal activity on Mars to better understand the planet's history and structure.
HP3: To take Mars' temperature, a key indicator of planetary evolution, InSight would deploy a heat flow probe on the surface of Mars. The instrument, known as HP3, would hammer five meters into the Martian subsurface, deeper than all previous arms, scoops, drills and probes, to learn how much heat is coming from Mars' interior and reveal the planet's thermal history.
RISE: To track Mars' reflexes, or the way it wobbles when it is pulled by the sun, an investigation called RISE would precisely measure the Doppler shift and ranging of radio communications sent between the InSight lander and Earth. By tracking wobble, scientists could determine the distribution of the Red Planet's internal structures and better understand how the planet is built.
Cameras: InSight would incorporate a camera, similar to the "Navcam" engineering cameras onboard the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), mounted on the arm of the lander that would serve to capture black and white images of the instruments on the lander's deck and a 3-D view of the ground where the seismometer and heat flow probe would be placed. It would then be used to help engineers and scientists guide the deployment of the instruments to the ground. With a 45-degree field of view, the camera would also provide a panoramic view of the terrain surrounding the landing site.
A second similar camera, with a wide-angle 120-degree field of view lens like the "Hazcam" cameras on MER, would be mounted under the edge of the lander's deck and would provide a complementary view of the instrument deployment area.
