New mission to Red Planet gets green light: JPL’s InSight lander will explore how Mars and other rocky planets were formed in the early days of the solar system.

(Fun fact: InSight is short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport.)

Photo: An artist’s rendering shows the proposed InSight mission to Mars. The lander would measure seismic and tidal activity to study how rocky planets formed. Credit: NASA

Ex-JPL employee says beliefs cost him his job: A computer specialist rankled some of his JPL co-workers by pressing intelligent design and other issues at work. Now a judge must decide if that is why he was laid off.

Photo: David Coppedge is suing JPL, the NASA center in La Cañada-Flintridge, for wrongful termination. A judge heard closing arguments this month. Credit: Nick Ut / Associated Press