What life-cycle cost did NASA list for InSight in 2020?
InSight was a NASA robotic lander designed to investigate the deep interior of Mars. Its instruments listened for marsquakes and studied the planet's internal structure rather than travelling across the surface like a rover.
Published project estimate
$828.9 million
Cost basis: 2020
The short answer
$828.9 million
A NASA Office of Inspector General report lists InSight's project life-cycle cost at $828.9 million. This is the mission-level figure used by BudgetGuessr, not an estimate for the lander hardware alone.
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
What the number includes
Cost scope
Project life-cycle cost brings the major phases of the NASA project into one comparable figure. It is therefore wider than launch services or spacecraft manufacturing considered separately.
Project record
Project context
About InSight
InSight launched in 2018 and operated from Elysium Planitia on Mars. Its focused science mission and Phoenix-derived lander design make it a useful comparison with larger rover and sample-return projects.
Reading the data
How to interpret the figure
NASA reports the amount directly in US dollars. Clueterra does not convert the currency or adjust it to today's purchasing power; the cost year identifies the source report's basis.