Science Instruments

InSight’s seismometer, SEIS, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure, was a round, dome-shaped instrument that sat on the Martian surface and took the "pulse" or seismic vibrations of Mars. Its measurements provided a glimpse into the planet’s internal activity. The seismometer waited patiently to sense the pulse, or seismic waves, from marsquakes, and thumps of meteorite impacts. A suite of wind, pressure, temperature, and magnetic field sensors helped fine-tune the seismometer's measurements. This helped it sense surface vibrations generated by weather systems such as dust storms, or by turbulence in the atmosphere due to phenomena such as dust devils, which can also generate seismic waves. SEIS measurements told scientists about the nature of the material that first formed the rocky planets of the solar system.

The Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package, HP³ for short, was designed to burrow down to almost 16 feet (5 meters) into Mars' surface. That's deeper than any previous arms, scoops, drills, or probes before it. Similar to studying the heat leaving a car engine, it sought to measure the heat coming from Mars' interior to reveal how much heat was flowing out of the body of the planet, and what the source of the heat was. This instrument was designed to help scientists determine whether Mars formed from the same stuff as Earth and the Moon, and to give them a sneak peek into how the planet evolved.

The HP³ was designed, built and managed by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, or DLR), with significant contributions from the Space Research Center (CBK) of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Astronika.

InSight’s Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment, RISE, precisely tracked the location of the lander to determine just how much Mars' north pole wobbles as it orbits the Sun. These observations provide detailed information on the size, composition, and characteristics of Mars' iron-rich core.