Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

InSight Mission lands safely on Mars

Home National InSight Mission lands safely on Mars

WINDHOEK – Japie van Zyl and his team breathed a sigh of relief when he informed this reporter they have successfully landed the robotic InSight Mars lander on planet Mars late on Monday night. 

Van Zyl who is the Director for Solar system exploration at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is a Namibian.

After landing on Mars, the team will deploy the solar panels on the lander for them to get power.
 “Over the next months, we will move the instruments which are mounted on the deck of the rover, which has a robotic arm. The robotic arm will then carry them one by one off the rover and set them on the ground but only when we have taken pictures of the surface of Mars to determine where we will place them,’’ he explained.
The lander is designed to study the interior and sub-surface of Mars. 

The main aim of the mission is to enhance scientific knowledge of space, including how earth and the moon are formed. 
Before the mission, the Namibian director paid a courtesy call to President Geingob in May, who wished him well before the mission.

The Namibian native was born at Outjo, who received an honours bachelor’s degree cum laude in electronics engineering from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.