Tip Sheets

‘Imagine the feel’ of Martian winds — InSight reports weather from red planet

Media Contact

Jeff Tyson

Beginning today, NASA’s InSight lander will provide daily weather reports from Mars, showcasing temperature, air pressure and wind on the red planet.


Don Banfield

Senior research associate

Don Banfield is a research scientist at Cornell University and science lead for InSight’s Auxiliary Payload Sensor Subsystem, a suite of meteorological sensors on the lander's deck. Banfield is available for interviews about Martian weather.

Banfield says:

“We have a modest understanding of the weather and climate on Mars, but the un-precedented continuous and precise meteorological measurements from the InSight lander have helped solidify that understanding as well as discover some new behaviors that we’re still working to understand.

“Sharing the weather results from InSight helps to bring everyone along as we explore Mars with the InSight lander. Not only can you see what it looks like if you were on Mars from the imaging, but you can also try to imagine the feel of the moderate winds from the Northwest (over your shoulder), and the rush of a passing dust devil swirling past you.”

Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.