NASA Is Landing on Mars Soon! Here's How to Watch the InSight Excitement.

On Nov. 26, NASA's Mars InSight lander will, if all goes smoothly, touch down on the Red Planet's surface, ending a seven-month space cruise and kicking off nearly two years of science work — and of course, you can follow all the drama with NASA webcasts.

You will be able to watch all of these events on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, or directly at the agency's website. Here's the full lineup of festivities.

The excitement begins on Wednesday (Nov. 21), with back-to-back news conferences. The first, at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT), will focus on InSight's engineering; the second, at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT), will highlight the lander's scientific goals and instruments. Both panels will feature NASA scientists and engineers who have worked with the mission throughout the design and construction of the lander.

Then, tune in again Sunday (Nov. 25), as NASA holds a final news conference before the landing, with the conference set to begin at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT). The Mars InSight team will answer questions from social media live beginning at 4 p.m. EST (2100 GMT).

Finally, the big day itself: NASA's live coverage of the landing will begin at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) and run until 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT). If you're looking for a more communal experience to watch the landing unfold, NASA has also compiled a list of viewing events taking place on Nov. 26 across the country.

But because of the challenges of interplanetary communication, NASA staff won't know right away whether the landing attempt was successful. The agency is not setting a time for the post-landing news conference but has announced that event will take place no earlier than 5 p.m. EST (2300 GMT). The suspense could easily continue later into the evening.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook. Original article on Space.com.

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