NASA employees celebrate InSight Mars probe landing with elaborate handshake!
NASA’s latest probe, InSight, made a successful landing on the red planet on Monday afternoon, triggering delighted celebrations across the globe.
When the announcement was made that InSight had landed and the mission was a success, NASA employees were obviously thrilled, with two mission controllers launching into an impressive handshake to celebrate.
The uplifting moment from inside the agency’s California Jet Propulsion Laboratory quickly went viral, reaching more than 19,000 retweets.
Our @NASAInSight spacecraft stuck the #MarsLanding!
Its new home is Elysium Planitia, a still, flat region where it’s set to study seismic waves and heat deep below the surface of the Red Planet for a planned two-year mission. Learn more: https://t.co/fIPATUugFo pic.twitter.com/j0hXTjhV6I
— NASA (@NASA) November 26, 2018
In a statement, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said: “Today, we successfully landed on Mars for the eighth time in human history.
“This accomplishment represents the ingenuity of America and our international partners and it serves as a testament to the dedication and perseverance of our team.”
People on social media obviously loved the multi-part handshake complete with high-fives and dance moves, with some claiming that the moment was even more exciting than the Mars landing itself.
Not sure if I’m more excited about the landing or this dope ass handshake. https://t.co/4bDcosnO2D
— Margaret Brown (@margaretiscoolx) November 26, 2018
I’m losing at this InSight probe celebration handshake pic.twitter.com/A0i4mQmb2M
— Eric Morrow (@morroweric) November 26, 2018
May we all have a NASA nerd handshake moment in our lives. https://t.co/QJ4w0MzTZg
— Mythili Sampathkumar (@MythiliSk) November 26, 2018
The InSight probe touched down on Mars’ Elysium Planitia area north of its equator after travelling at 13,200mph through the planet’s atmosphere.
NASA’s $814 million (£633 million) mission aims to explore how the planet was formed and map its core, crust and mantle.
A second device will burrow five metres into the planet’s surface, measuring Mars’ temperature, while a third experiment will determine how Mars wobbles on its axis.
