NASA has approved the launch of its Mars lander, InSight, for May 2018, to study the Red Planet's deep interior.

 

美国宇航局已确认，将于2018年5月发射火星着陆器，以深入研究这颗红色的星球。

 

The mission was originally scheduled to launch in March this year, but NASA suspended preparations in December after a vacuum leak was discovered. 

 

The instrument involved is a seismometer provided by France's space agency. 

 

It is designed to measure ground movements as small as the diameter of an atom, and requires a perfect vacuum seal around its sensors¹ to withstand the harsh conditions on Mars. 

 

The instrument redesign and two-year delay will add more than 150-million US dollars to a budget of 675 million. 

 

NASA says the additional costs will not delay or cancel any current missions, but it will mean fewer opportunities for new missions from 2017-2020.

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