CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA is sending a robotic geologist to Mars that will dig deeper than ever before.
The Mars InSight spacecraft is set to launch this weekend from California.
The lander has a slender probe designed to burrow nearly 16 feet into the Martian soil. That's for taking the planet's temperature. To take the planet's pulse, a quake-measuring seismometer will operate directly on the Martian surface.
The $U.S.-European mission is the first dedicated to studying the insides of Mar
Liftoff is scheduled for early Saturday from Vandenberg Air Force Base. NASA last landed on Mars six years ago.
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