Washington, May 5 : NASA is all set to launch on Saturday the first mission designed to study the deep interior of Mars called the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight).

It will launch at 7.05 a.m. (4.35 p.m. India time) aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base.

"Live coverage will begin at 6:30am with all the details about this mission to take the Red Planet's 'vital signs'," NASA said in a tweet.

"I'm excited for this mission to go beneath the surface of Mars to explore its crust, mantle and core -- as well as marsquakes," NASA's 13th Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted on Friday.

The ULA rocket will carry the spacecraft over the Channel Islands just off the California Coast and continue climbing out over the Pacific, shadowing the coastline south beyond Baja California in Mexico.

InSight's Atlas will reach orbit about 13 minutes after launch, when the rocket is about 1,900 kilometres northwest of Isabella Island, Ecuador, NASA said in a statement.

InSight will study the deep interior of Mars to learn how all rocky planets formed, including Earth and its Moon.

The lander's instruments include a seismometer to detect marsquakes, and a probe that will monitor the flow of heat from the planet's interior.

InSight will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes, which are seismic events similar to earthquakes on Earth.

It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet's deep interior.

 

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New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.

The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.

Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.

"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.

The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.

However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.

There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.

KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.

The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.

With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.

State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.