Launching in 2018: TESS and InSight

This year brings some exciting new missions to the family of missions already in progress at NASA. Having launched on April 18, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, joins the family of exoplanet missions seeking to discover planets beyond our solar system. This all-sky surveying space telescope will search for exoplanets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants by monitoring the brightness of more than 200,000 stars. TESS will discover these small planets with bright host stars in order to capture detailed characteristics of the planets and their atmospheres. NASA's InSight lander, which aims to launch on May 5, will head to Mars in order to study the martian interior. Using a seismometer, a heat probe, and a radio science instrument, the lander will seek to understand the interior of the red planet in order to further our understanding of how the rocky planets formed. The seismometer is the first in more than 40 years to be sent to Mars and will seek to capture information on marsquakes from tectonic activity, weather activity, and meteorite impacts on the surface. Bring your excitement and questions for a discussion on these exciting missions!

Annie Wargetz is a life-long space enthusiast who is a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador volunteer. Having grown up watching the Shuttle launches, Annie's passion lies in human spaceflight and the physiological and psychological challenges of living and working in space. Annie previously worked on NASA's Orion spacecraft and OSIRIS-REx missions and recently moved back home to Houston to be with family. She is honored to be speaking at HAS again!