NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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InSight’s Wind and Thermal Shield Seen from Space
NASA’s InSight spacecraft and its recently deployed Wind and Thermal Shield were imaged on Mars on 4 February 2019.

On 2 February, InSight’s robotic arm placed the special shield over its seismometer on the Martian surface to protect the instrument from wind and extreme temperatures. The green object in this image is the InSight lander; the white dot just below it is the shield, which is especially bright and reflective. The shield is a little less than 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from the lander. The dark circles on either side of the lander are its solar panels. The total width of the lander with both panels open is 19 feet, 8 inches (6 meters).

The image also shows the darkened ground where InSight’s retrorockets blew away lighter-colored dust as the lander touched down on 26 November 2018. Scientists are interested in imaging this location over time to watch how quickly the lighter-colored Martian dust covers that darkened surface.

Usage Policy
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Postscript
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.