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NASA’s InSight hopes to detect “marsquakes”, deploys seismometer on Mars
In another historic feat for NASA’s InSight lander, a seismometer has now been deployed on Mars, marking the first time a scientific instrument has been placed onto the surface of another planet. Once the craft’s team have things set up for readings, its instruments will begin measuring the internal vibrations of the red planet, hoping to ultimately learn about the activities and composition of its core and crust. InSight’s instruments will also study how powerful and frequent seismic activity is on Mars along with how often the surface is hit with meteorites. If we’re hoping to explore and possibly live there one day, this is all very important information to have.
After launching on May 5, 2018, aboard an Atlas rocket in California, InSight and its MarCO twin CubeSat companions traveled through deep space for around 6 months before landing on the Martian surface at 11:52 PST on November 26, 2018, an event watched live around the world, including a broadcast in Times Square, New York City. The planned mission for the craft is a little over 1 Martian year, i.e., about 2 Earth years, during which time it will aim to provide scientific data useful for understanding the processes that have shaped the rocky planets of our solar system. In other words, the things InSight learns about Mars will be directly relevant to our own planet as well.
InSight’s name is actually an acronym for “Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport”, each part being a reference to the specific science it will be conducting. There are several auxiliary instruments on board the lander that will assist or complement its main mission. However, there are 3 scientific instruments on the craft to help meet its objectives.
First, a seismometer named the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) will study seismic waves from the Martian surface to study the planet’s crust. When magma moves or meteorites hit, the instrument will detect the motion and gather information that will tell scientists about Mars’ temperature, pressure, and composition. This is the instrument featured in the lander’s recent photo.
Second, a heat flow probe named the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Probe (HP3) will burrow more than 10 feet into the surface to measure the heat still flowing out of Mars, giving clues about how it evolved and whether Earth and Mars are made of the same materials. Finally, a radio science instrument named the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE) will measure tiny changes in the location of InSight to measure Mars’ “wobbles” on its axis. This movement data will provide information about the planet’s core.
InSight is conducting its experiments on the western side of the Elysium Planitia of Mars, a smooth, flat region near the planet’s equator. The location was chosen from a pool of 22 candidate landing sites, all within Elysium, evaluated during several workshops from 2013-2015. The decision was made based on Elysium’s proximity to the equator (maximum sun for InSight’s solar arrays), low elevation (plenty of atmospheric space for its landing), lack of rocks and slopes (flat enough for the instruments to deploy and work properly), and the subsurface structure (so the digging instruments could burrow easily).
Next, InSight will finish setting up its remaining instruments and begin its full science mission. We can expect to continue receiving image updates from the lander as more milestones are reached. Here’s an extra bonus if you want to feel like you’re “there” with InSight: NASA’s “Experience InSight” interactive web page lets you control a virtual version of the lander in a Martian environment. You can deploy its solar panels, move around a few of its instruments, or just learn about the various parts that make up the mission. There are additionally two virtual cameras, just like the ones onboard the actual craft, enabling you to watch the movements you’re making, just like InSight’s team sees from their control center.
Watch the below video for a recap of InSight’s landing:
Elon Musk
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet,” Musk said.
Elon Musk recently hinted that he believes Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily if they continue to hold onto their shares, and he reiterated that in a new interview that the company released on its social accounts this week.
Musk is one of the most successful CEOs in the modern era and has mammothed competitors on the Forbes Net Worth List over the past year as his holdings in his various companies have continued to swell.
Tesla investors, especially those who have been holding shares for several years, have also felt substantial gains in their portfolios. Over the past five years, the stock is up over 78 percent. Since February 2019, nearly seven years ago to the day, the stock is up over 1,800 percent.
Musk said in the interview:
“Hold onto your Tesla stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.”
Elon Musk in new interview: “Hold on to your $TSLA stock. It’s going to be worth a lot, I think. That’s my bet.” pic.twitter.com/cucirBuhq0
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) February 26, 2026
It’s no secret Musk has been extremely bullish on his own companies, but Tesla in particular, because it is publicly traded.
However, the company has so many amazing projects that have an opportunity to revolutionize their respective industries. There is certainly a path to major growth on Wall Street for Tesla through its various future projects, including Optimus, Cybercab, Semi, and Unsupervised FSD.
- Optimus (Tesla’s humanoid robot): Musk has discussed its potential for tasks like childcare, walking dogs, or assisting elderly parents, positioning it as a massive long-term driver of company value.
- Cybercab (Tesla’s robotaxi/autonomous ride-hailing vehicle): a fully autonomous vehicle geared specifically for Tesla’s ride-sharing ambitions.
- Semi (Tesla’s electric truck, with mentions of expansion, like in Europe): brings Tesla into the commercial logistics sector.
- Unsupervised FSD (Full Self-Driving software achieving full autonomy without human supervision): turns every Tesla owner’s vehicle into a fully-autonomous vehicle upon release
These projects specifically are some of the highest-growth pillars Tesla has ever attempted to develop, especially in Musk’s eyes, as he has said Optimus will be the best-selling product of all-time.
Many analysts agree, but the bullish ones, like Cathie Wood of ARK Invest, are perhaps the one who believes Tesla has incredible potential on Wall Street, predicting a $2,600 price target for 2030, but this is not even including Optimus.
She told Bloomberg last March that she believes that the project will present a potential additive if Tesla can scale faster than anticipated.
Cybertruck
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
Tesla’s new Cybertruck offering has had its delivery date pushed back once again. This is now the second time, and deliveries for the newest orders are now pushed well into 2027.
According to Tesla’s Online Design Studio, the new All-Wheel-Drive Cybertruck will now be delivered in April 2027. Earlier orders are still slated for early this Summer, but orders from here on forward are now officially pushed into next year:
🚨 Tesla has updated the $59,990 Cybertruck Dual Motor AWD’s estimated delivery date to April 2027.
First deliveries are still slated for June, but if you order it now, you’ll be waiting over a year.
Demand appears to be off the charts for the new Cybertruck and consumers are… pic.twitter.com/raDCCeC0zP
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) February 26, 2026
Just three days ago, the initial delivery date of June 2026 was pushed back to early Fall, and now, that date has officially moved to April 2027.
The fact that Tesla has had to push back deliveries once again proves one of two things: either Tesla has slow production plans for the new Cybertruck trim, or demand is off the charts.
Judging by how Tesla is already planning to raise the price based on demand in just a few days, it seems like the company knows it is giving a tremendous deal on this spec of Cybertruck, and units are moving quickly.
That points more toward demand and not necessarily to slower production plans, but it is not confirmed.
Tesla Cybertruck’s newest trim will undergo massive change in ten days, Musk says
Tesla is set to hike the price on March 1, so tomorrow will be the final day to grab the new Cybertruck trim for just $59,990.
It features:
- Dual Motor AWD w/ est. 325 mi of range
- Powered tonneau cover
- Bed outlets (2x 120V + 1x 240V) & Powershare capability
- Coil springs w/ adaptive damping
- Heated first-row seats w/ textile material that is easy to clean
- Steer-by-wire & Four Wheel Steering
- 6’ x 4’ composite bed
- Towing capacity of up to 7,500 lbs
- Powered frunk
Interestingly, the price offering is fairly close to what Tesla unveiled back in late 2019.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk outlines plan for first Starship tower catch attempt
Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
Elon Musk has clarified when SpaceX will first attempt to catch Starship’s upper stage with its launch tower. The CEO’s update provides the clearest teaser yet for the spacecraft’s recovery roadmap.
Musk shared the details in recent posts on X. In his initial post, Musk confirmed that Starship V3 Ship 1 (SN1) is headed for ground tests and expressed strong confidence in the updated vehicle design.
“Starship V3 SN1 headed for ground tests. I am highly confident that the V3 design will achieve full reusability,” Musk wrote.
In a follow-up post, Musk addressed when SpaceX would attempt to catch the upper stage using the launch tower’s robotic arms.
“Should note that SpaceX will only try to catch the ship with the tower after two perfect soft landings in the ocean. The risk of the ship breaking up over land needs to be very low,” Musk clarified.
His remarks suggest that SpaceX is deliberately reducing risk before attempting a tower catch of Starship’s upper stage. Such a milestone would mark a major step towards the full reuse of the Starship system.
SpaceX is currently targeting the first Starship V3 flight of 2026 this coming March. The spacecraft’s V3 iteration is widely viewed as a key milestone in SpaceX’s long-term strategy to make Starship fully reusable.
Starship V3 features a number of key upgrades over its previous iterations. The vehicle is equipped with SpaceX’s Raptor V3 engines, which are designed to deliver significantly higher thrust than earlier versions while reducing cost and weight.
The V3 design is also expected to be optimized for manufacturability, a critical step if SpaceX intends to scale the spacecraft’s production toward frequent launches for Starlink, lunar missions, and eventually Mars.
Elon Musk hints Tesla investors will be rewarded heavily
Tesla drops latest hint that new Cybertruck trim is selling like hotcakes
