Launch Photos: NASA's InSight Mars Lander Blasts Off on Atlas V Rocket

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight Mars soars into space after launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before dawn on May 5, 2018.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight Mars soars into space after launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before dawn on May 5, 2018. (Image credit: NASA TV)

InSight Launches to Mars

Ben Smegelsky/NASA

NASA's InSight Mars lander lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5, 2018 at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT). See photos from the historic launch here. [Full Story: NASA's InSight Mars Lander Launches to Probe Red Planet's Deep Interior]

Meet InSight

NASA/JPL-Caltech

Here's an artist's view of what NASA's InSight will look like on Mars. The probe's launch on May 5, 2018 was just the first leg in a 6-month journey to the Red Planet.

On the Launchpad

NASA/Charles Babir

InSight launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Here, the rocket stands atop Space Launch Complex 3 at its Vandenberg Air Force launch site in California. May 5 was a foggy day for launch.

Above the Clouds

Cory Huston/NASA

NASA's Mars Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations (InSight) mission lifts off on an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5, 2018.

Liftoff into a Red Sky

NASA

A mission bound for the Red Planet lifts off into a red sky as light from the rocket's flame illuminates the thick fog.

Liftoff!

NASA

The Atlas V rocket with the InSight lander on top fires its engines for a smooth, on-time liftoff.

Ascent

Bill Ingalls/NASA

NASA's Mars Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations (InSight) mission lifts off on an Atlas V rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on May 5, 2018.

The Rocket's Yellow Glare

NASA

The Atlas V rocket's engine burns brightly in the predawn sky in this view from the rocket booster.

Go, Atlas V, Go!

NASA

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's InSight Mars soars into space after launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California before dawn on May 5, 2018.

Marsbound

Bill Ingalls/NASA

Smoke billows from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California shortly after liftoff of the Atlas V rocket with NASA's InSight Mars lander on board.

A Colorful Burn

NASA

The Atlas V's rocket flames glow with a hint of teal and pink in this view of InSight's launch.

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Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.