Case Study: Lockheed Martin achieves successful Mars InSight landing with Honeywell MIMU

Lockheed Martin's Mars Lander Counts on Honeywell MIMU to Study Red Planet

Lockheed Martin relied on Honeywell’s Miniature Inertial Measurement Unit (MIMU) to meet the extreme navigation challenge of delivering NASA’s InSight lander to the Martian surface. The mission required precise, self-contained inertial guidance through a high‑speed entry, descent and landing sequence and tight packaging inside an aeroshell while achieving attitude accuracy within five degrees to carry out its science objectives.

Honeywell’s MIMU — a lightweight, high‑reliability unit using GG1320 ring laser gyros — provided the inertial guidance and stabilization during the seven‑month cruise and the critical entry, descent and landing phases. Honeywell’s solution enabled a successful touchdown in November 2018, met the mission’s positioning and attitude requirements, and allowed Lockheed Martin and NASA to proceed with InSight’s scientific program to study Mars’ deep interior.

Lockheed Martin

Dale Howell

InSight’s Guidance, Navigation, and Control Lead