--- title: NASA InSight Mars Mission Rescheduled for May 2018 description: A mission to study below the surface of Mars will have to wait another two years, NASA announced Wednesday. canonical: https://time.com/4253019/nasa-insight-mars-rescheduled-may-2018/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-09T21:09:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:17.426Z article:section: Science og:title: NASA Mars Mission Postponed Until May 2018 og:description: The mission was originally going to launch this March og:url: https://time.com/4253019/nasa-insight-mars-rescheduled-may-2018/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc36c15f997d17084/69888a5c428a9e4fabcd1ba5/16-026.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 16-026 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NASA Mars Mission Postponed Until May 2018 twitter:description: The mission was originally going to launch this March twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc36c15f997d17084/69888a5c428a9e4fabcd1ba5/16-026.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NASA Mars Mission Postponed Until May 2018 by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Mar 9, 2016 9:09 PM CUT  This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars. This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars.NASA/JPL-Caltech by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Mar 9, 2016 9:09 PM CUT A mission to study below the surface of Mars [will have to wait another two years](http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-targets-may-2018-launch-of-mars-insight-mission/ "undefined"), NASA announced Wednesday. The InSight was postponed in December, when NASA realized that [leaks in a vacuum enclosure housing a key instrument were too serious](http://time.com/4159260/nasa-mars-insight-mission-delayed/ "undefined") to be fixed by the scheduled March 2016 launch date. NASA will wait until Earth and Mars are close enough in orbit to allow for a short six-month trip by the InSight. The new launch window begins May 5, 2018 with a Mars landing expected Nov. 26, 2018, according to NASA. An estimate of the cost of delaying the launch two years is being assessed and is expected to be released in August. InSight’s primary goal is to understand how rocky planets—like Earth and Mars—came to be. The mission is [part of NASA’s ambitious plans for Mars](http://time.com/3921268/mars-science-hawaii-dome-volcano/ "undefined"), including ultimately sending humans to the Red Planet.  “The science goals of InSight are compelling, and the NASA and CNES plans to overcome the technical challenges are sound,” John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate in Washington, wrote in a statement. “The quest to understand the interior of Mars has been a longstanding goal of planetary scientists for decades. We’re excited to be back on the path for a launch, now in 2018.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4253019/nasa-insight-mars-rescheduled-may-2018/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4253019/nasa-insight-mars-rescheduled-may-2018/"},"headline":"NASA Mars Mission Postponed Until May 2018","datePublished":"2016-03-09T21:09:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:17.426Z","description":"The mission was originally going to launch this March","url":"https://time.com/4253019/nasa-insight-mars-rescheduled-may-2018/","keywords":["Space","NASA","Mars"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc36c15f997d17084/69888a5c428a9e4fabcd1ba5/16-026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc36c15f997d17084/69888a5c428a9e4fabcd1ba5/16-026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"16-026","caption":"This artist's concept depicts the InSight lander on Mars.","creditText":"NASA/JPL-Caltech","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4253019/nasa-insight-mars-rescheduled-may-2018/","name":"NASA Mars Mission Postponed Until May 2018"}}]}] ```