[exciting music]
- Welcome to NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory
in Pasadena, California.
It has been an extremely
exciting day today.
 And I want to bring on stage
 the very successful team
 for the InSight Mars landing.
Let's welcome them now.
  NASA Administrator
  Jim Bridenstine,
  JPL Director Mike Watkins,
 InSight Project
 Manager Tom Hoffman,
 InSight Principal
 Investigator Bruce Banerdt,
 MarCO team member Andy Klesh,
 and Elizabeth Barrett,
 the InSight instrument
 operations lead.
  [applause]
  Go ahead and have a seat.
I'd also like to
acknowledge here
all of the InSight team members
and the MarCO team members
 who have joined us for
 the press conference.
 And all of your amazing
 work for these two missions.
 We're gonna.
  [applause]
 Okay, we're gonna start now
with NASA Administrator
Jim Bridenstine.
  - Well, thank you.
 What an amazing day.
  To start, I want everybody
  here to know that
I've been on the phone recently
with both the president
and the vice-president.
 And they are
 overwhelmingly proud
 of everything that has
 gone on here today.
 They watched the entire thing.
  Of course, they
  were very anxious.
And were anticipating greatness.
Which, ultimately, we had today.
But what an amazing day.
And they are so grateful
for all of the hard work
  of everybody in this room.
So, I wanna start by
saying a few thank yous.
 Number one, thank
 you to the NASA team
 and the NASA JPL team.
  Thank you to the MarCO
  team and the InSight team.
  We also want to thank our
  international partners.
 Today was a great day for
 the United States of America.
 It was also a great day for
 our international partners.
  Germany, of course, is
  involved in this mission.
 DLR has been a great partner.
 As France has.
 CNES has been a great partner
 on this mission as well.
I also want to make sure
I thank Lockheed Martin,
 the prime contractor.
 And we want to thank
 United Launch Alliance
who actually launched this
mission almost seven months ago
 from the west coast,
 which has never been done
 before for a mission to Mars.
 And this is an
 amazing, amazing day.
  As the NASA administrator,
 this was my first
 time to be in the room
 when something
 like this happened.
 I've watched it on TV.
  But, really, for the first
  time to be in the room
  when the data stops and
  to know how quiet it gets.
 I mean, it gets
 really, really quiet.
 You can't do justice
 on television
 with that degree of quietness.
  And then, of course,
  once the data comes back,
 the elation.
 What an amazing day
 for me and, of course,
  the entire NASA teamwork.
 Extremely grateful.
  This was seen all
  around the world.
 It wasn't just the American
 leadership that saw it.
Leaders from all around
the world saw it.
 And, of course, populations
 from all around the world
 will see it in the
 newspapers tomorrow morning
  and, of course, in social
  media today, online,
  in the newspapers.
 So, what an amazing
 day for our country.
But it's not just people
 all around the world
 that will see it.
In fact, people off
the world have seen it.
  And they have some things
  they'd like to say.
- [Astronaut] The International
Space Station crew
 would like to.
 To the inside of Mars itself.
And it being a really important
step on the way there.
 Also for human explorations.
 So, kudos for
 pulling that one off.
And we are looking
forward to what the data
  comes out of this mission.
 - [Man] Houston copies all and
 extends our congratulations
as well to our partners
and friends at JPL.
It was really something.
 Got some goosebumps down
 here watching the coverage.
  [laughter]
- [Astronaut] Same here.
  [applause]
  - So, ultimately,
  the day is coming
 where we land humans on Mars.
 We're very excited about that.
 I think that's why
 our astronauts are
 so excited about it
 and why they wanted to
 congratulate everybody here.
 With that, I'll introduce the
 director of JPL Mike Watkins.
 Who has been kind of the
 leader of this organization
for a while now.
 I've known him ever since
 I was a member of Congress.
  And I'll tell you.
 He is an amazing advocate for
 what you guys do here at JPL.
 And we're grateful
 for his leadership.
- Thanks very much, Jim.
  So, you guys were lucky
  enough to be here with us
and to share the 8th
successful Mars landing
  in the history of
  the planet Earth.
  [applause]
 And I'm very proud, as
 the director of JPL,
 to say that all eight of those
 had the press conference right
 here in this room afterwards.
  [laughter]
 And we never get tired
 of watching these.
  So, if you don't remember
  what it was like,
 we have a little memento here.
- InSight is now
traveling at a velocity
 of 2,000 meters per second.
  17 meters.
  Standing by for touchdown.
[dramatic music]
 Touchdown confirmed.
 [cheers and applause]
  - So, obviously,
  the InSight team,
the international InSight team,
 put a tremendous
 amount of effort in.
 Not just working
 over Thanksgiving
 holiday here nonstop.
 But over the past few years.
 And, you know, all the
 credit goes, really, to them.
  I'd like to give a
  special shout out
  to our colleagues at
  Lockheed Martin in Denver.
 And we have Lisa Callahan here
  as the head of Civil
  Space for Lockheed Martin.
  [applause]
  Been our longtime partners
  going back to Viking days
 in the very beginning.
Also, I'd like to thank,
as was mentioned by Jim,
 our international colleagues.
  The incredible scientific
  payload on this mission
 could not have been done by
 any one country in the world.
 It took the entire country,
 the entire world rather
to build the kind of
scientific breakthrough payload
 that we have on this mission.
  You'll hear more about it
  from our PI Bruce
  Banerdt later on.
 But, you know, it is
 critical to our future
  to have that kind
  of partnership.
And it really means a lot to us.
 And, of course, in the coming
 months and years, even,
  the history books
  will be rewritten
 about the interior of Mars.
 I personally have to say the
 first day, the landing day,
  and these first
  couple of pictures
 of a place no human
 has ever seen before
also remind us that,
in order to do science,
we have to be bold and
we have to be explorers.
And that combination of
science and exploration
 is something that exists
 entirely at NASA and at JPL.
 And we're very proud
 to be part of it.
So, thank you very much.
  [applause]
  So, now, I'd like
  to turn this over
to the team that
actually did this work.
 Many of whom are out there.
  But, up here, the project
  manager Tom Hoffman.
  [applause]
  - Thank you, Mike.
  I'm actually truly humbled
  by this experience.
  Having the opportunity to
  work with the amazing team
  that I've had the
  opportunity to work with,
 the team that actually made us
 successfully land on
 the surface of Mars,
 which is never something
 we should take for granted.
 It's been a humbling and an
 amazing experience for me.
All the people that are
wearing the red shirts
  and the black shirts today
  really are the people
who made this a success.
 So, I just want to say
 thank you very much
 for all the hard
 work that you put in
  and especially all
  the hard work that
 your spouses and significant
 others and loved ones
let you put in.
'Cause I know you were
working on Thanksgiving.
  But not just Thanksgiving.
 You've missed a lot
 of different holidays
and important events
to make this a success.
And, today, it was all worth it.
Thank you, guys.
  [applause]
 So, our JPL navigation team
and our JPL/Lockheed Martin/NASA
Ames/NASA Langley team.
 You guys are now all fired.
Your job's over.
  [laughter]
Thank you for getting us
to the surface of Mars.
 We're gonna turn it over now
to the Surface Operations folks.
  Surface Operations folks,
  your job has just begun.
 So, you better get some rest.
  It's gonna be a
  little bit of time
 before we get the instruments
 onto the surface of Mars
 and start getting back
 this groundbreaking science
 that we expect to get.
 But I know,
just like the navigation
EDL team was successful,
  I know our surface
  operations team
 is gonna be equally successful
with the support of our
international partners.
 It's gonna be awesome.
 I can't wait to start
 seeing marsquakes.
 Start getting
 temperature flux data
 coming out of our HP cubed.
 That's gonna be truly amazing.
 This is really the first time
 I've sat down since we landed.
  [laughter]
 I probably can't sit
 down much longer.
 So, I'm gonna stop talking.
  Or I'm gonna start
  jumping up and down again.
So, Bruce Banerdt is our
principal investigator.
 We have been working together
 for the last seven years
to make this a reality.
 Bruce has been
 working for decades.
And I'm so excited for him that
he's finally gonna start
getting his science back
that he's been working
so long and so hard for.
  So, Bruce.
 - Thanks, Tom.
  [applause]
 Well, I can't tell you
 what a privilege it is
 to be up here today.
  People keep talking about
  my science and my mission.
  But this is really
  something that
we're doing as a science
team for the world.
 The science that we're
 doing belongs to everybody.
 And the knowledge that
 we're gonna bring back
 is gonna belong to everybody.
 So, we actually have a little
 bit of science already.
 Thanks to our friends at MarCO
who sent down this first image.
 It's nice and dirty.
I like.
  [laughter]
 Nice and dirty image.
  So, we can see the
  surface of Mars.
And I'm just taken back to 1976.
I was actually a student
intern here at JPL
 in the summer of 1976.
  And so, I never actually
  got to come into this room
  while the press
  conferences were going on.
But I was just outside.
  And I would sneak
  in here in between
  and just look at the place
 and just wonder at the
 history being made.
And that first image
from the Viking lander.
 That bright red image.
 We had seen all these
 nice black and white
 images from the moon.
 And they were amazing.
 But this bright red
 image from Mars.
 And the first image
 from another planet.
And now I'm looking at
this image from InSight.
And it's like a full
circle of a whole career
  working towards
  understanding Mars better.
  We have a little bit of
  some things in this image
  that you can see.
You can see a rock in the front.
If we can go to the next image,
 there's actually a
 couple other things.
  We can actually
  see the bolts that
are holding this dust cover on.
 This image is actually
 a very good argument
 for why you put a
 dust cover on a camera
  [laughter]
 when you're landing on Mars.
 Good choice, right?
  So, all those black specks
  are gonna disappear.
  And, when that goes away,
you're not gonna see
those little cover bolts
 down there in the
 bottom right and left.
 But you will see
 the lander footpad.
 And we'll be studying that
 in the next couple of days.
 Looking at the
 amount of dirt on it.
 Looking at the kind of dust.
 Trying to figure out what the
 distribution of particle sizes
  and all this kind of stuff
  that's really critical
  to putting our instruments
  down on the surface.
  And, up there in
  the upper corner.
 You can't even see
 it in this picture.
  It's so dusty on the edge.
  But that's the storage
  box that holds the tether,
the cable that's gonna
connect our seismometer
from the ground of Mars
up to the spacecraft
 where it can beam the
 data back to Earth.
 And so, if you've
 been paying attention,
you know that you're not
supposed to be expecting
  any seismology to come out
  of us any time real soon.
 But we're gonna be spending
 the next couple of weeks
 looking at that ground and
 finding exactly the best place
 to put our seismometers down.
 It's a very, very
 nice looking picture.
 It looks pretty flat.
  We're very level.
I think we're less than
two degrees of tilt.
 Which makes our job
 very easy to do.
 And it's time to get going.
  [laughter]
 So, you all saw the excitement
 in the control room,
 but, actually, there's been
 excitement all over the world.
 And we got some images back.
 We can roll some of
 those images now.
  We've had people watching
  all over the world.
 All across the United
 States, Europe, Asia.
 They said that we're gonna
 roll some pictures behind me.
 I'm not seeing
 anything coming up.
  [laughter]
But take my word for it.
 There's a lot of people
 cheering all over the place.
 Here we go.
 There we go.
 Some of the pictures.
 I really wasn't paying
 that much attention
  what was going on
  after we landed,
  because it was
  such a crazy time.
 But we've got people and
 animals all over the place.
  [laughter]
 We've got hundreds of people.
There have been museums that
opened up their doors for this.
 Auditoriums and Time Square.
 The Nasdaq screen on
 Time Square was there.
 An amazing number
 of people out there
 in the snow and cold
 watching InSight land.
 And, even at the air
 and space museum,
 or the science museum
 here in Los Angeles.
 And so, it's just
 been a wonderful event
 all across the world.
 And I'm just so proud
 and so privileged
to have been part of it.
 And, with that, I'm gonna turn
 it over to Andy Klesh here
  who was on the MarCO team
who brought back that
wonderful image for us.
 - Thank you very much.
  [applause]
  So, this has been
  a fantastic day
 for spacecraft great
 and small on the way.
  And our spacecraft
  are very small.
 Only the size of a briefcase
 or really carryon luggage.
 We were able to
 take two spacecraft,
  have them transit
  301 million miles
  over the last six
  and a half months
  and have them fly by Mars.
Now, this was not only
a very small spacecraft.
But it was built by a very small
team that we actually have.
 You can see them over
 here on the side.
  [applause]
  This team of really mostly
  part timers on the project
 has proven the technology that
 we were trying to demonstrate
 with this mission on here.
Being able to support a
large craft like InSight
  in order for it to perform
  its fantastic science.
  Being able to show
  that we can take
 a smaller focused,
 more riskier mission
  out into the solar system
 and try and perform
 new opportunities
 or take advantage of new
 opportunities that we have.
 And try and bring the
 community that we have built
  for these small
  spacecraft along with us.
Early on in the mission,
we had interns from the
University of Michigan
 actually build parts that are
 flying in MarCO right now.
 The primary flight
 computer that's flying
that was built from the
University of Michigan.
  We had students from
  Moorehead State University
 actually receive some of the
 first data back from MarCO
 back in the May
 and June timeframe.
 And we have two interns here
 representing their school
 from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
that were serving on the
operations panel there
and bringing back the
data for InSight today.
 And it's all of these
 different schools.
It's the broad community
that we have that
  really made MarCO
  such a success.
 Now, MarCO was there
 to relay information
 back from InSight in realtime.
 And we did that
 extraordinarily well.
 We had no dropped frames, no
 dropped data along the way.
 And we tried to bring
 back the image you had
  to kick off your science.
But onboard MarCO itself
we have one more gift
 that we can give the
 InSight community.
And if you can bring
up the next image here.
This image was taken from MarCO.
  [applause]
 Having successfully brought
 all the data back from InSight
 during its exciting entry,
 descent, and landing sequence,
 what you see before
 you is an image taken
 roughly 4700 miles from Mars.
  And about 12:10
  PM, 10, 15 minutes
  after EDL itself happened.
And this image is really
our farewell to InSight,
 our wish for good luck, and
 our farewell to Mars itself
 as we continue on to
 complete our primary mission
  as part of MarCO.
So, we thank you for
all of your excitement.
 We thank everybody who helped
 out on the MarCO project.
  And we look forward to all
  the science yet to come.
To tell you a little bit
more about what's next
 is Elizabeth Barrett.
  [applause]
 - Thank you.
 I had the privilege
 to watch the landing
 with our science and
 instrument teams on InSight.
 So, it was amazing watching
 with the scientists
  and the engineers
  that have devoted
many years of their life
to watching InSight land
 and see it actually
 land successfully.
 And now that we're on
 the surface of Mars,
 we have a lot of work to go.
  So, now that we've landed,
 we start an initial
 assessment phase.
 So, the first thing we'll do
 is assess the health
 of our spacecraft
 and then the health of the
 instruments that went with us.
  And then look at
  our landing site.
We've got the first picture down
  very much thanks to MarCO.
And now we want to look
at it in more detail
  and understand
  where can we place
 the instruments on the surface
to get the best science return.
 Once we make that assessment,
 we start our deployment phase.
And I believe we have a
video to accompany that.
 So, the first thing we do is
  we're going to deploy
  our seismometer, or SEIS,
to the surface.
 Once that seismometer
 is down on the ground,
 we make sure it's
 in a good location,
 that it's working well,
 that we like its placement.
And, after that, we
will return to the deck
 to grab our wind and
 thermal shield or WTS
  that goes on top
  of the seismometer
  to protect it from
  the environment.
So, the wind and thermal shield
  is deployed directly on
  top of SEIS to protect it.
 And you can see here
 we're lifting it up.
You can see the skirt drop down.
  That's gonna help protect
  SEIS from the environment.
And being placed
directly on top.
 Once we've deployed WTS
 successfully to the surface,
 then we return and we pick up
 our heat probe or HP cubed.
 And we're gonna deploy HP
 cubed to the surface as well.
 And, after we finish
 the deployment
  of all of our instruments,
making sure they're
all in a good location,
 all in a good state,
then it begins the last
portion of the mission
  before we can actually do
  the full science return.
We've got to do the penetration
  of the mole of HP
  cubed underground.
Going up to 16 feet underground.
 And then we also
 do commissioning
 of our seismometer.
Fine tuning it so that
it can detect all those
 very subtle vibrations on Mars
  to get that great
  science return.
 This entire process,
  just getting the
  instruments to the ground,
 takes approximately
 two to three months.
 So, it's gonna take
 a little bit of time
 to get to that point.
 And then another couple months
  for the mole to penetrate
  through the ground
  and to do the fine tuning
  of the seismometer.
 And, at that point,
 we'll be sitting back
  and listening for
  those marsquakes
 and measuring the
 vital signs of Mars.
 Getting all that
 great science return.
 We're really looking
 forward to that.
And back to you.
  [applause]
- Okay, we're gonna open
it up now to questions.
 We're gonna be taking
 questions from the phone line.
 If you are on the phone line,
you need to hit star one
to get into the queue.
 We will take some questions
 from here in the room
 and also from social media.
  Just submit your question.
  Post your question
  with #asknasa.
 I will start with a
 question on the phone
 and then we'll go to the room.
  On the phone we have NBC.
Please go ahead.
 - [Denise] Hi, this is Denise.
Can you hear me?
 - Yes, we can.
 - [Denise] I was wondering.
 This is a question for Andy.
  I was wondering if
  you could explain
 what happens to the
 two MarCO spacecraft
 and also whether this
 technology concept
could be used on future
missions and how?
  Thank you.
- Sure.
We're looking forward to seeing
  the end of MarCO's
  primary mission.
 We have roughly two more weeks
to bring the rest of
the data down from MarCO
 covering the entry, descent,
 and landing sequence.
 And all the lessons
 that we've learned
  from the voyage thus far.
 At the end of those two weeks,
 the two MarCOs will continue
 on an elliptical orbit
around the sun on here.
  And that is really the
  end of our initial period.
 Though, because of the success
 of the MarCOs thus far,
  we are discussing
  with headquarters
  on what we might
  do with them next.
 Including evaluating
 their survivability
  and seeing what other
  great science and lessons
  that we can pull
  from those craft.
We do look forward to
these lessons being used
 on future missions.
There are many future
small sats and cube sats
 that are in work and funded
 by NASA at this point.
 And we look forward to more
 concepts into the future.
 - Okay, I'm going to go to
 a question here in the room.
  Steve Hutterman, go ahead.
 - Congratulations all of you.
I want to ask a question
to Tom and to Bruce.
 Tom, we've talked to people
 in this situation before.
The last few moments and
immediately afterwards
 can be very, very emotional.
 I'm wondering if
 you could talk about
 what was going through
 your heart and mind,
 how emotional it was for you?
  And then I'll have
  one for Bruce.
 - It was an incredible
 emotional experience.
 To think about working
 for seven years,
  as many of the people here
  in the room have done,
 to get to the point where
 you have seven more minutes
 to survive, literally survive,
is incredibly hard to describe.
 My heart was.
Basically, I think just stopped
beating for seven minutes.
 I don't know if
 that's healthy or not.
  [laughter]
  But then, when we
  got the indication
of parachute deployment,
which was absolutely terrifying
thing to think about.
 We got that positive.
  And then listening
  to Christine Solay
  call out as we got closer
  and closer to the surface.
Every time she made a call out,
 you know, the hairs
 on the back of my neck
 would start rising
 a little bit higher
and a little bit higher.
 And, when we finally got the
 confirmation of touchdown,
  it was completely amazing.
  The whole room went crazy.
My inner four year old came out.
 But it was not bad.
  [laughter]
 Some of the people on the team
had made a time out area
for me just in case.
  [laughter]
I didn't have to use it.
  But it was an incredible,
  incredible experience.
 And it was amazing.
  - And, Bruce, I'd
  like to ask you.
Can you give us an idea
of one or two questions
  you'd like to see?
  I'm sure there are
  lots of questions.
  But one or two at
  the forefront that
  you would like to
  see this mission
maybe answer or give
you hints to the answer.
- Okay, so, this is
gonna get kind of nerdy.
  [laughter]
 But, when I was here in '76
 and in the next summer in '77,
I was working on a project that
 was looking at the deformation
 of the Martian surface
 and how the surface was
 pushed down under volcanoes
and volcanic provinces on Mars.
 And I kept on running
 against the problem
  that I needed to know the
  thickness of the crust,
 because that affected
 the gravity field.
 And the gravity field was one
 of our basic measurements.
 And so, we just kind
 of had to fake it,
because we had no idea.
So, we kind of had to
say, well, it has to be
 at least this thick and that.
But it was just a bunch
of blah blah blah.
  [laughter]
  Honestly.
 And I thought "Gosh I really."
 - [Tom] That's a scientific
 term, by the way.
- That is, yes.
  Only three blahs.
 So, it's like I just needed
 the thickness of the crust.
  If we only had a
  seismometer there,
 it would be a snap to get
 the thickness of the crust.
  And so, that's one
  measurement that
I would like to go back,
get that old paper,
  plug it in to see
  how close I was.
So, that's one that, personally,
I'm really, really attached to.
 And then the other thing that
 really kind of interests me,
 even though it's not really
 my particular
 field of expertise,
 is the properties of the core.
 I mean, the core of Mars is
 a really fascinating object.
 And it has tendrils
 into so many aspects
  of the Martian evolution.
 And even the evolution of the
 habitability of the surface
in terms of the magnetic field.
 In terms of the amount of heat
 coming out of the interior.
 And so, when we start getting
some information about the core,
which, obviously, is the
hardest thing you can do
  is actually go down to the
  very center of the planet
  through 1000 miles of rock
and actually figure out
what's this made out of
 or how big is that.
 That's the other
 piece of information
  I'm really looking forward
  to understanding better.
 - Okay, we're gonna take
 one more from the phone line
  and then I'll come
  back to the room.
 We're gonna go to the AP next.
  Go ahead.
  - [Woman] Yes, hi.
Can you hear me?
 - Yes.
- [Woman] I'm wondering
how close to a bullseye
did you get on the landing site
 and is there any
 way to gauge how big
 that rock is in the foreground
 of the first picture?
  [laughter]
 - Yeah, so, we got very,
 very close to the bullseye.
I don't have the final numbers,
 but we are very close
 to the bullseye.
  That rock.
Actually I'm really
happy about where it is.
Because it's not where we
intend to place the instruments.
  So, that's great.
And, if you look at it closely,
 it looks like there's
 a little bit of sand
that's been moved away from it.
 Either by the
 descent engines maybe
 or by wind over time.
  Either of those is great.
  Because what that
  means is the area
  in front of the lander is
  likely mostly sandy soil.
 Which is gonna be great for
 the HP cubed instrument.
 - Okay, we're gonna
 go back into the room.
 Let's go on this side.
Emily, if we can get a
microphone right there.
Thanks.
 - Hi, Emily Lakdawalla
 with the Planetary Society.
 A detailed question.
 Do you know how
 large the pebbles are
that you can see
in front of you?
 And then a question
 that I keep getting
  asked by people online is
  how many impacts do you
  hope to be able to detect
 during InSight's mission now
 that you're on the surface?
 - Okay, I haven't really had
 a chance to look at this image
 in any detail.
 And it's kind of difficult
 to judge the size of things.
  Because this is
  a fisheye camera.
So, it's a very distorted view.
 It's actually showing
 almost the entire area
 in front of the lander
 kind of compressed
 into a narrower image.
 And so, we have
 experts on the team
 I'm sure are already
 poring over this.
 And, in the next day or so,
 we'll have some measurement
 of the dimensions
of some of these rocks.
 And what was the
 second question again?
 - [Emily] How many impacts?
 - How many impacts?
 Of course, that's one of the
 things we want to measure.
 Our estimate is we should
 probably see something like
 maybe a half a dozen impacts.
 Maybe twice as many as that.
 Maybe half as many as that.
 But somewhere in the order of
half a dozen to a dozen, I hope.
- Okay, we're gonna take
a question on this side.
 - Thank you very much.
 Tariq Malik with space.com.
 I think my question's
 for Bruce or for Tom.
We see a lot of excited
people here in the room
 that worked on the mission.
 I'm wondering kind
 of what comes next.
  Is there a party?
 If so, when?
  [laughter]
  And does everyone
  get the night off
 or when do they hit
 Mars time for InSight?
  Thank you.
 - Yeah, so, for the folks that
 I just fired a little bit ago,
 the nav team and the EDL team,
  they're welcome to go off
  and have a celebration.
But the surface operations team,
actually, their work is
just gonna get started
 when we get the Odyssey pass
 a little later this evening.
 That's when we're gonna start
 planning for the next sol.
 The next day.
 Sols on Mars.
 Days on Earth.
 We'll start planning
 for that next sol.
  And maybe, Elizabeth, you
  can tell a little about
 some of the things
 we're gonna be doing
 the first coupe sols.
  - Yeah, so, the
  first couple sols
  we are going to assess the
  health of the robotic arm.
 And then, tomorrow,
 we uplink checkouts
 for the actual
 instruments themselves
 to check them out and assess
 their health, as well.
 So, in addition to obviously
 monitoring the lander
 and making sure those
 solar arrays have deployed,
we want to check out
all the instruments that
  have gone with us.
 To be prepared to put
 them on the surface
  and to collect all
  that science data.
  Over the rest of the week,
 we also will open the
 covers on the cameras
 and do a more detailed survey
 of the work space in
 front of the lander
 where we want to
 put the instruments
  so we can choose the best
  places for them to go.
- Okay, right there in
the center aisle there.
 - Hi there.
Margaret Crow, Mechanics Radio.
  Very exciting to be here.
 It was my first time.
And we talk a lot about.
 This is for Tom
 and Bruce, as well.
  Looking into the
  interior of Mars.
  Why should we all
  care about this?
 I know it's exciting.
 But why should we all care?
  What do we expect to get
  out of digging into Mars?
  - Okay, so, the reason why
  we're digging into Mars
  is really just to better
  understand not just Mars,
 but the Earth itself.
  And so, one of the
  things, I think,
 that is a source of
 our natural curiosity
 is how did we get to
 where we are today?
 How does this planet
 that's under our feet.
How did it form?
 How did it get to be a place
 with mountains and oceans
 and breathable air
 and things like that?
  And we're trying
  to go back in time
 to the very earliest stages
of the formation of our planet.
 And we're looking for evidence
which is no longer
available on the Earth.
 It's all been erased
 by plate tectonics,
 by mantle convection, by our
 active geological processes
 that are eroding everything.
And so, sort of the fingerprints
of those early processes
just aren't there on the Earth.
We can go back to Mars.
On Mars, all those
things that were formed
 in the first few
 tens of millions of
 years after formation
  are still frozen in place.
  And so, we can basically
  use Mars as a time machine
to go back and look at what
the Earth must have looked like
  a few tens of millions
  of years after it formed.
And, by doing that, we can then
look at our physical models,
 our theories of how
 the Earth evolved,
 and understand why the
 Earth became the way it is.
 If you look at
 Earth's twin, Venus,
  it's almost the same size.
 But it's an extremely
 different surface environment.
 It's very hot.
  The atmosphere is
  very sulfurous.
There's not much oxygen.
  And yet why is it
  different than the Earth?
 And we've had some
 theories about that.
  And they generally
  have to do with
 very small
 differences in the way
the planets evolve from
that initial state.
 And so, Mars will help
 us refine our models,
 understand why a planet
 might go one way like Venus
or the other way like the Earth.
 And, finally, when
 we actually look at
  the planets around
  other stars, even,
  we can actually
  begin to estimate
 which ones might be habitable
  and which ones may
  be not habitable
  based on some of the
  geophysical understanding
 that we'll get just
 by looking at Mars.
 - Okay, I'm gonna go
 to the phone line now
 and then I'll come back in and
 check in with social media.
  Okay, let's go to
  the phone line.
 Irish TV, go ahead.
 - [Man] Thanks very
 much, Veronica.
I'm actually in France.
  [laughter]
The Cite de l'espace in Toulouse
  where there was a huge
  crowd watching this event
 for obvious reasons.
 And, when the first
 picture popped up,
 a couple of questions
 came to mind.
 I mean, one for Tom.
 I mean, are you proud
 of yourself that
you have managed to land
in the most boring place
 that anyone has landed
 on Mars in history?
And, for Elizabeth, are
you embarrassed that
 it's going to be, apparently
 from these pictures,
so incredibly easy to place
the seismometer on the surface?
  [laughter]
  - Well, I'm very,
  very happy that
 it looks like we have
 an incredibly safe
  and boring looking
  landing location.
  [laughter]
 That's exactly what
 we were going for.
 It's what the landing site
 selection people promised me.
 They promised me
 sandy with no rocks.
  There's one rock.
  So, I'm gonna have to
  talk to them a little bit.
  [laughter]
And there are certainly
some small rocks.
  But those look
  pretty manageable.
 It's hard to tell in
 this picture, though,
how easy it will necessarily be.
  You can't tell if there's
  any slopes or anything.
 We expect to get that later.
 But it does indeed look to be
pretty much like a parking lot.
I think Elizabeth's still gonna
 have her job cut out for her,
but I'll let you answer
that question yourself.
 - Yeah, it was actually great
 when the image popped up
in the room with all the science
 and instrument experts there.
 Everyone gathered
 around the very front
and was immediately deciding
where can we place instruments.
  Where were there
  rocks in the way.
 And it's amazing that
 it's actually so nice.
  And it appears to
  be quite empty.
 As Tom said, we have some
 more assessments still to do
 to make sure it meets
 the requirements
 for where we can
 put the instruments
 at our default locations or
 any changes we have to make
to go to a new location.
But this is a great indication.
 We were all certain
 that that first image
would help us determine
how difficult of a job
we would have in
placing the instruments.
  And I'm very happy
  that it looks like
 we'll be able to do it
 quite easily we hope.
- [Veronica] Okay, let's
go to social media.
 Do you have some good
 questions there, Stephanie?
 - Absolutely, the
 Internet is exploding
with questions and joy.
  They're almost as
  excited about the landing
 as they are about the epic
 handshake in mission control.
  [laughter]
  So, we are getting
  a lot of questions
  about the cameras and the
  lens covers in particular.
 In particular.
 So, how long till we
 remove the lens cover?
 And will it be
 permanently removed
 or will it be able to go
 back on during a dust storm?
- I think you probably.
 - Yeah, so, the lens
 covers, once removed,
are permanently removed.
 They cannot be put back on.
  So, once we pop them, they
  are popped off entirely.
  I believe the first
  cover we open on sol two.
 So, right now, we're sol zero.
  And a Martian day
  is called a sol.
  So, on sol two, we should
  open the first cover.
 And, on sol three, the
 cover for the second camera.
 So, this week.
 - Fantastic.
And Denise Winston would
like to thank all of you
for making her birthday
a very exciting day.
  [laughter]
 And, for the administrator,
  she asks how long
  do you estimate
 it will be before we
 land a person on Mars?
  - Oh wow.
 I'm going with the mid 2030s.
That's very aggressive.
 But here's what we're doing.
We're going to the Moon.
 That's part of the president's
 first space policy directive.
  To go to the Moon.
 But he wants to go in a way
 that we've never done before.
  This time, we're
  gonna go to stay.
  So, we're gonna build a
  sustainable architecture.
 In other words, we can go
 back and forth again and again
 with landers, with
 robots, with rovers,
 and even with humans.
  It's gonna be an
  open architecture.
So, we know what happens
with reusability.
 We've seen that with
 the cost of launch
and the access to
space with reusability.
Cost goes down.
Access goes up.
 Well, we want the
 entire architecture
between the Earth and
the Moon to be reusable.
We want launches to be reusable.
We want tugs from Earth
orbit to lunar orbit
to be reusable.
We want a reusable command
module in orbit around the Moon.
 We call it Gateway.
 And we want reusable
 landers going back and forth
  to the surface of the
  Moon over and over again.
The entire architecture
needs to be reusable.
 It needs to be open.
 In other words,
 the way we do data,
 the way we do communications,
 the way we do docking,
all of it is open and
available to the public.
 Once we achieve that,
 then we can have
 international partners
and commercial partners join us.
 And, ultimately, we can build
 an international coalition
 of nations to have a
 sustainable return to the Moon
  for the long term.
  Now, the reason
  that's important.
 Here's what we know
 about the Moon.
 It's a three day journey home.
 Which means, if
 something goes wrong,
we can still come home.
We've seen that with Apollo 13.
 So, we have a perfect
 proving ground
 that is part of the
 Earth-Moon system.
The Moon never leaves the Earth.
 Mars is a whole
 different ballgame.
But what we can do is
we can prove technology.
 We can retire risk.
 And ultimately prove
 human physiology,
 which is a whole 'nother
 dynamic that we're working on
on the International
Space Station right now.
 And then take all of
 that and replicate
  all of those capabilities
  and technologies
 as much as possible
 for a trip to Mars.
 Now, we talk about the Gateway
 being that reusable
 command module.
We think back to Apollo.
 We're all so proud of Apollo.
  What an amazing
  accomplishment Apollo was.
The entire thing was thrown away
 except for that tiny
 capsule at the top.
 So, what we want to do
 now is we don't wanna
 throw away the whole thing.
  We want everything
  to be reusable.
Or at least as much as possible.
So that the mission is
ultimately sustainable.
 If we can achieve that
 and we can replicate
  as much of it as possible
  for a trip to Mars.
 We talk about Gateway being
 a reusable command module
 in orbit around the
 Moon for 15 years.
 The first Gateway is
 all about discovering
 more about the Moon than
 we've ever discovered before.
  Solar electric propulsion,
  it can go to the L1 point.
  It can go to the L2 point.
 It can get us to more
 parts of the Moon
than we've ever been to before.
 Think about the Moon.
2008, India made
a discovery that
 there's potentially
 a lot of water ice
 on the surface of the Moon.
2009, we definitively know that
 there's potentially
 hundreds of billions of tons
 of water ice on the
 surface of the Moon.
 Water ice represents
 life support.
Air to breathe.
Water to drink.
 But it's also
 hydrogen and oxygen.
 Which is rocket propulsion.
 On the surface of the Moon in
 hundreds of billions of tons.
  So, we talk about in situ
  resource utilization
  capabilities on the Moon.
 We can prove a ton
 of stuff on the Moon.
 And accelerate, once
 we've done that,
 accelerate the trip to Mars.
  The first command module,
  we call it Gateway,
 is a reusable command
 module around the Moon
  to get us to more
  parts of the Moon
than we've ever gone to before.
  Remember, definitively, we
  learned in 2008 and 2009
 that there was hundreds of
 billions of tons of water ice
 on the surface of the Moon.
  We need to be able to get
  to more parts of the Moon
 than we've ever been
 able to get to before
 to learn what we don't
 already know about the Moon.
 But, while we do this,
we're proving capability
and technology
to go to Mars even
faster than we could go
 if we didn't use
 the Moon as a tool.
So, the reality is, yes,
your nation right now
 is extremely committed
 to getting to Mars
 and using the Moon as a tool
 to achieve that objective
 as fast as possible.
- Okay, we're gonna take
another question here.
 Stand by with social media.
 Let's go back here.
  Can we get the microphone?
 - Thank you.
Irene Klotz with Aviation Week.
 I think it's for Andy.
  Can you describe
  a little bit about
 what other data's
 gonna be coming back
 from the MarCO satellites that
 you didn't get back already?
 And is there any consideration
to putting MarCO-type
satellites on Mars 2020?
 - The data that's
 coming back from MarCO
 really does a deeper dive
 into what we recorded onboard
  in terms of the health
  of the spacecraft itself.
 During ETL, we were focused on
getting that InSight data down.
 So, we had just a
 very narrow pipe that
 we could put a little bit
 of information about MarCO,
about its temperatures onboard,
  about the energy
  that it was using,
  how well it was oriented,
 and how well it could
 support the data
  coming from InSight there.
We'll be collecting more
in depth information
 about the spacecraft itself.
 We'll look at the trajectory
 that it actually flew by.
  How stable it was.
 Actually, the
 orbit determination
  was quite good on
  MarCO in there.
 So, that tells us
 how well we were able
  to fly by Mars and prepare
  for that journey there.
  And all of this is
  really stored in
  onboard memory that we'll
  be slowly bringing down.
As well as, possible,
more images that we took
 during today's events on here.
Now, on top of that,
MarCO was set to support
 the InSight lander.
 MarCO A passed through a very
 unique trajectory behind Mars.
 So, we actually were
 occluded, or blocked,
  by the planet in
  respect to Earth.
 And so, with that,
 we're actually doing
 atmospheric science
  as we're passing by Mars.
 And we'll be digging
 into that data as well
over the upcoming weeks.
  So, not only did we do
  technology demonstration.
 Not only were we able
 to get images back.
  But we are able to do some
  science there, as well.
 As for things into the future,
  we've shown that
  this type of craft
can support these types
of missions on here.
 Should that mission need it.
And we'll be looking at
opportunities as we go
 to see where they're necessary
 and how well we can
 support in the future.
 - Okay, going to this side of
 the room, right in the back.
 - Hi, Sophie Sanchez.
Cosmic Chicago with Chicago Now.
 My question's for Jim.
The last time we spoke,
 you mentioned that
 NASA was prioritizing
  human spaceflight programs
  to avoid any gaps.
 Like we're experiencing now.
 My question is what
 is the agency doing
 to avoid any gaps in
 planetary missions?
 - So, that's a great question.
What we have to do as a country
is we have to look at a
portfolio of planetary missions.
 And, of course, some missions
 are what we would call
  flagship missions.
 Very big, large,
 expensive missions.
 And other missions
 are not so expensive,
  but very capable.
  And so, what we're trying
  to do is figure out
 what the right balance
 of portfolio is.
  You know, if every mission
 is a flagship mission
 and they fail,
then that's a lot of
money and a lot of time
  that ultimately we
  don't want to put
all of our eggs into one basket.
 So, we're looking at creating
 the most balanced portfolio
 that includes small
 missions and large missions.
I think a perfect
example is New Horizons.
Which, of course,
we're all familiar with
the 2014 flyby of Pluto.
  And now it's, no kidding,
  in the Kuiper Belt.
And it's gonna be taking
pictures Ultima Thule
 here in just a matter of a
 month from very close range.
  Which has never
  been done before.
And that was a mission that was.
  You look at return
  on investment.
 It was a tremendously
 inexpensive mission
  for the amount of
  science and data
 that we're getting from it.
  So, I think we need a
  good balance of portfolio
 that includes high
 end kind of missions
 that are what we call
 flagship missions
 and others that are smaller to
 keep that balanced portfolio.
 To be clear, we want
 to make sure that
the planetary science missions,
the heliophysics missions,
astrophysics missions,
Earth science missions,
 all of those, are balanced
 across the entire portfolio.
  And balance those missions
  with human missions.
 The key is to create
 a balanced portfolio
  to get as much science as
  we can from our agency.
 - If I could just add
 one thing to that.
You're all invited
back in about 26 months
 for the landing of Mars 2020.
  [applause]
  So, we are avoiding a gap.
  [applause]
- Fred Wesse for Fred
Wesse YouTuber channel.
 My question is for Elizabeth.
 You've demonstrated
 how the instruments
are gonna pan out with a video.
  You'll spend a lot
  of time on this
in the next few days and weeks.
 Exactly how long is deploying
 all the instruments gonna take
and what are the biggest
risk of that process?
 - So, the first couple weeks
we actually just are
doing initial assessment
of our deployment area.
 And then we begin the
 deployment itself.
  To get all the
  instruments on the ground
 is expected to take
 approximately two
 to three months
 for final deployment.
At which point we can then start
 the penetration with the
 mole and the commissioning.
 So, we expect approximately
 two to three months.
I liken it to a game of
playing that claw game
 at a carnival.
 But you're doing it with a
 really, really valuable prize.
And you're doing it blindfolded
where you can only take
occasional pictures.
 And then you're doing
 it via remote control
  on another planet.
  So, it makes it a
  little bit longer.
 You need to take more
 pauses to make sure
 you actually have the
 grapple on the payload
 before you lift it up.
 And it's actually on the
 ground before you let it go.
  So, you want to take
  those pauses along the way
to make sure
everything's going well.
 So, it's expected to
 take that duration
  to allow us to have those
  breaks in the process.
In terms of what we need to do,
 I think the biggest
 thing is choosing
our final deployment locations.
And just making sure
we practice that a lot.
 We have a test bed here that
  we actually will
  terraform to look
  very much like the
  Martian area we've landed.
 And we'll practice
 deploying to make sure
everything's gonna go smoothly.
 - Any more questions
 in the room?
 Yes.
- Sorry, with apologies
to the InSight team,
I'm gonna take advantage
of the opportunity
  to ask Mister Bridenstine
  another question
 about the future of
 Mars exploration.
There isn't another Mars mission
 on the books after Mars 2020.
 What are NASA's plans to get
 started on Mars sample return
 and maybe to replace our aging
 telecommunications orbiters
  that are up there?
  Or not replace,
  but improve upon.
 - No, the two critical issues.
 Sample return.
Mars 2020 is gonna cache
samples on the surface of Mars.
 That would be silly
 to cache those samples
 and not return them.
That's the goal.
 So, after Mars 2020, we need
 a sample return mission.
 But you're absolutely right.
 With all of these very
 successful missions
on the surface of Mars,
 to include not just Mars 2020,
  but one thing that I know
  Chairman John Culverson
has been so committed to
is the Mars helicopter.
  Which has a lot of
  people so excited.
 The idea that we're
 gonna fly a helicopter
 on another world for the
 first time in human history
 with the Mars 2020 mission.
  With all of these
  activities, you're right,
  we're gonna need more
  communication architecture
 around Mars.
 So, the answer is
 we're putting together
  budget requests right now
 and presenting them
 to people within OMB
 and within the White
 House to be prepared
  for the day when
  we can go to Mars
with even more missions.
 It's a high priority for us.
  We don't.
NASA has a long history of
building upon the last success.
 And that's ultimately
 what we wanna do here.
  - Okay, we're gonna
  check in on social media.
Stephanie, do you have
any more good questions?
 - Absolutely.
  So, a simple one.
 Ethan Plant would like to know
 how much time was spent
 planning the InSight mission?
  [laughter]
- Wow, well, you may or
may not be able to see
  the number of people that
  are around in this room.
 And this is probably
 only half or so
  of the people that
  have worked on it
probably on average
for four or more years.
 And so, you multiply
 that all out
really quickly in your
head, which I can't do.
 One of our navigators
 already did it.
 And probably did the
 14th decimal point.
  [laughter]
 But it's a huge,
 huge amount of work
  that's gone on both at JPL
  and all of our partners
 and our international partners
 to make this a success.
 And there's still a
 lot more work to do.
  As Elizabeth pointed out,
 we've gotten just part of the
 way done with this mission.
We maybe got the hard part out.
 But there might be
 some challenges still
in getting the deployment done.
 So, there's a lot more time
 to go and work to be done.
 - Yeah, in terms of planning
 this particular mission,
 I would say we were probably
 sitting down in a room
 and sketching it out
 about 10 years ago.
Trying to get together the ideas
 for the proposal that
 had finally became
this mission eventually.
 So, I would say about 10 years
 we've been planning this.
 On some level, I've
 been planning this
 for almost 30 years.
 Because, back in 1988 or so,
  I started working with
  some engineers here at JPL
  to try to develop a
  seismometer to go to Mars
and trying to figure
out the kind of mission
 that would carry it.
  And so, depending on how
  you want to calculate it,
 it could be 30 years.
It could be five years.
 Or it could be a
 couple thousand years,
as Tom was gonna do it.
- And, for Mike Watkins,
  Cool American Adventurers
  from our YouTube chat
 would like to know if you had
  one dream takeaway
  from this mission,
  what would it be?
 - You know, my dream
 takeaway, I think,
 of all of these missions is
 just to remind us to be bold
 and remind us to keep
 taking challenges
and keep moving forward.
  And never to be scared of
  these kind of challenges.
I mean, it's what we do.
 You have to take these
 chances to go forward.
We've been lucky enough
recently to be very successful.
But it's still a risky business.
 But you have to
 keep moving forward
 and you have to keep
 trying these things.
 We try them on Mars.
 We try them on Europa.
And we try them all
around the Solar System.
 And it's something that I
 think is part of human nature.
And it's a challenge
we have to keep taking.
  - Alright and, with that,
 I think that's an
 outstanding closing statement
 for today's news conference.
 Now, before.
  We're gonna do a
  replay of images.
 For media, if you want
 the replay of images,
 we'll do that in just
 a couple of minutes
 before we close out.
 But I know there are
 some team members here
  who wanted to come through
  and do their high fives.
  So, come on through, gang.
 And this is.
  [applause]
  [chatter]
  [applause]
- InSight is now
traveling at a velocity
  of 2000 meters per second.
  17 meters.
  Standing by for touchdown.
[dramatic music]
 Touchdown confirmed.
[applause and cheering]
