NASA selected the Elysium Planitia region of the Red Planet as the landing site for its InSight lander –an 81-mile long, 17-mile-wide (130-kilometer-long, 27-kilometer-wide) landing ellipse on the western edge of a flat, smooth expanse of lava plain. The site-selection team focused on a band around the equator, where the lander’s solar array would have adequate sunlight to power its systems year-round and be safe enough for InSight to land and then deploy its solar panels and instruments without obstructions.
