NASA InSight Spacecraft Takes Selfie

By Jessie Wade

NASA InSight spacecraft has taken its first selfie on the planet Mars. Lander uses his robotic arm to take 11 pictures that are combined together to make photos.

According to NASA, the same imaging process was used on the Curiosity rover mission. The photo shows the InSight solar panels, science instruments, and the entire deck.

NASA's image.

Along with the selfie, the first look at the InSight "workspace" was shown to members of the Mission team, which consisted of an area of ​​17 x 7 feet in front of the lander who was captured in 52 individual photos.

"Almost no rock, hills and holes mean it will be very safe for our instruments," said InSight Chief Investigator Bruce Banerdt of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "This might seem like a very simple land if it wasn't on Mars, but we were happy to see it."

The landing team specifically chose an area on a "stone-free" planet called Elysium Planitia.

InSight sits in an area of ​​land called a "hole," which is a depression created by the impact of a meteor, and at some point filled with sand.

For more information NASA, read about the success of its landing on Mars after a seven-month journey through the solar system, and a large topic of liquid water found on this planet, resulting in further steps that Mars can inhabit for human life.

Jessie Wade is a news writer for IGN and she almost went to school for Astronomy. Chat with him on Twitter @ jessieannwade about all things space.