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Inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, planetary protection samplings have been taken prior to processing the payload fairing for NASA's upcoming InSight mission to Mars. The effort is to ensure contaminants from Earth are not transferred to other bodies in the solar system. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, will study processes that formed and shaped Mars. Its findings will improve understanding about the evolution of our inner solar system's rocky planets, including Earth. The lander will be the first mission to permanently deploy instruments directly onto Martian ground using a robotic arm. The mission is scheduled to launch during the period March 4 to March 30, 2016, and land on Mars Sept. 28, 2016