NASA reveals new images of its InSight lander preparing for work

The robot will go through an initial assessment phase to check on its overall health and the health of its instruments before it can move on to the deployment phase. Then, once its finally time to deploy its suite of instruments, that process alone is expected to take two to three months. InSight will place its seismometer, and only once the team is happy with its location and initial operations will it return to the deck to get its wind and thermal shields, which will sit atop the seismometer for protection. The lander will then pick up the heat probe to bring to the surface, before beginning its historic dig. Eventually, once it's all settled in, Barrett says we'll be'sitting back listening for Mars quakes.'