Mars landing comes down to final 6 minutes of 6-month trip

It all comes down to the final six minutes of a six-month journey to Mars.

NASA's InSight spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere at supersonic speed, then hit the brakes to get to a soft, safe landing on the alien red plains.

After micromanaging every step of the way, flight controllers will be powerless over what happens at the end of the road Monday, nearly 160 million kilometres away. The communication lag between Mars and Earth is eight minutes.

"By the time we hear anything, the whole thing is already done," said project manager Tom Hoffman of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

"Either it happened or it hasn't happened."
A brief rundown of Insight's do-or-die entry, descent and landing: SIX MINUTES BEFORE TOUCHDOWN
THREE MINUTES
FORTY-FIVE SECONDS
FIFTEEN SECONDS
TOUCHDOWN!
NASA estimates temperatures could be in the teens or even single digits Fahrenheit (well below zero Celsius). Overnight lows could reach minus 140 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 96 degrees Celsius.)
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