NASA launches its next mission to Mars on Saturday. Here's how to see it live.
On Saturday, NASA will launch its latest and greatest mission to Mars.
If all goes according to plan, the InSight lander -- designed to look below the surface of Mars, mapping its interior -- will take flight to the red planet atop an Atlas V rocket launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 7:05 a.m. ET.
Even if you aren't physically in California to see the launch in the wee hours of the morning, you can still catch the high-flying Mars action live online thanks to NASA.
NASA TV will air the live broadcast of the InSight launch starting at 6:30 a.m. ET. You can watch it in the window below.
Once launched, InSight will coast through space for about six months before arriving at Mars in November.
After its arrival, the car-sized spacecraft will land on the red world and start gathering data.
The lander is expected to hunt for "marsquakes," which are likely caused by the contraction of the red planet's rocks as it cools.
Whenever the spacecraft senses one of these quakes, it'lll take a photo showing the Martian interior, beaming it back to scientists on Earth to learn more about Mars' inner workings.
People lucky enough to be in California on Saturday might get a chance to see the rocket take flight in person.
"Weather permitting, InSight's pre-dawn launch (4:05 a.m.) may be visible for more than 10 million Californians without a need for them to drive to a special location," NASA said.
"Just wake up early, check the InSight website for assurance the launch is still on schedule, go outside, look at the western sky, marvel at the rocket's flare as it travels southward, and cheer InSight bon voyage to Mars."
That said, the weather isn't looking great for launch viewing. At the moment, NASA is only predicting a 20 percent chance that the weather will be favorable for launch, due to expected fog in the area.
This particular launch is a special one, since it would mark the first time a mission to Mars has flown from Vandenberg.
Usually, these kinds of launches take flight from the East Coast due to the favorable rotation of the Earth, but the Atlas V is powerful enough to launch to the red planet from California.
The Atlas V will also carry two small satellites, nicknamed Wall-E and Eva from the 2008 Pixar movie, to Mars as well.
These tiny satellites, known collectively as Mars Cube One, are expected to act as a technology demonstration in orbit at Mars, helping scientists figure out if these cubesats could function as communications satellites outside of Earth's orbit. This launch will mark the first time NASA has sent cubesats to another world.
Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
