NASA's Mars InSight Spacecraft to liftoff on 5 May from California: Here's how to watch it live

If all goes according to plan, NASA will be launching its 48th mission to the Red Planet and the very first one from the West Coast this Saturday. The **Mars InSight spacecraft** has been tasked to probe the mysteries surrounding the deep interiors of Mars to help scientists better understand its geology and composition. [caption id=“attachment_4451957” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Illustration of NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight). NASA[/caption] So how can you watch it live? If you are living near the launch site in Lompoc, an official public viewing location will be open at the Lompoc Airport, 1801 North H St., starting at 2:30 am which is around 3 pm IST on 5 May. The live stream of the launch which will be streamed on YouTube and Ustream. United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket has been tasked to carry the InSight spacecraft from the Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:05 am (PT) (around 4.35 pm IST) on 5 May. That is of course if the weather permits the launch, otherwise, NASA has scheduled the mission to be carried out on 8 June. However, regardless of the launch date, InSight will be reaching Mars’ surface on 26 November. InSight is an abbreviation of the mission’s full name: Interior Exploration Using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport. As per the report by The New York Times, its landing spot will be Elysium Planitia which is a flat space of land with no mountains or large rocks in the spacecraft’s line of sight. Scientists plan on studying seismic activities on the Martian surface or Marsquakes and develop a heat map of the planet’s interior cores. “The resulting insight into Mars’ formation will provide a better understanding of how other rocky planets, including Earth, were created,” said NASA officials on its official blog. Several European partners, including France’s space agency, the Centre National d’Étude Spatiales, and Germany’s DLR, are supporting the mission.