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 The spacecraft, known as InSight, was designed to help scientists
learn more about the formation of rocky planets, including Earth.
The cancellation raises questions about the future of the research
effort, as it will be another 26 months before Earth and Mars are
favorably aligned for a launch.
Over the next couple of months, NASA will assess options for
repairing the faulty instrument, a sensitive seismometer that was
provided by the French space agency, CNES.
Budgetary limits may factor into a pending decision on whether NASA
will proceed with the program.
 After landing on Mars, InSight was designed to detect quakes and
other seismic activities, as well as measure how much heat is being
released from the planet’s subsurface and monitor Mars’ wobble - or
variations in its orbit - as it circles the sun.
The troubled seismometer, which detects minute vibrations, features
sensors encased in a nine-inch (23-cm) wide vacuum sphere, which has
been plagued by a series of leaks since August.
Engineers believed they had fixed the problems, but another leak
surfaced on Monday during testing.
“We just don’t have enough time to find the leak, fix it and still
make it to the launch pad in March,” John Grunsfeld, NASA associate
administrator for science, said during a phone call with reporters.
InSight arrived last week at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California
to begin preparations ahead of a launch targeted for March 18.
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The costs for the InSight mission, including launch and data
analysis, are capped at $675 million, up from an initial $425
million, NASA Planetary Sciences Division Director Jim Green told
reporters.
So far, the U.S. space agency has spent $525 million on the program,
including buying an Atlas 5 rocket from United Launch Alliance, a
partnership of Lockheed Martin and Boeing.
(Reporting by Irene Klotz in Tel Aviv; Editing by Letitia Stein and
Alan Crosby)
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