[4][5] Neither InSight nor any of the next Discovery's semi-finalists use the ASRG or an RTG due to high demand and limited supply of the type of plutonium it relies on.

In order to reduce the cost and minimize risk, the spacecraft concept is based on a previous spacecraft design, the Mars Phoenix lander, which has a demonstrated flight heritage that incorporates soft landing capability and incorporates a restartable rocket propulsion system, suitable to be repurposed for this mission requirements.

The shapes and unusual spider appearance of these features have stimulated a variety of scientific hypotheses about their origin, ranging from differences in frosting reflectance, to explanations involving biological processes.

[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] This process is rapid, observed happening in the space of a few days, weeks or months, a growth rate rather unusual in geology – especially for Mars.

The spacecraft will enter the atmosphere, and make a rocket-powered soft landing in a region of the south pole where geysers are known to form.

During the first post-landing phase, it will conduct science operations to characterize the landing site, to understand the surface geology of the area during the ice-free summer period.

The lander will continue to transmit engineering status data and meteorological reports during the winter, but will not conduct major science operations.

The ability to make multiple rocket-powered hops from an initial landing location to a science region of interest would be valuable across a large range of terrain on Mars, as well as elsewhere in the Solar System, and would demonstrate a new form of rover with the ability to traverse far more rugged terrain than any previous missions, a mission concept that would be applicable to exploration of many planets and moons.

Thus, this is an attractive mission for use of the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) with a mass of 126 kilograms (278 lb) including a Li-ion battery for use during Entry/Descent/Landing (EDL) as well as during the hops when there is a short duration requirement for additional power.

A light detection and ranging instrument (LIDAR), a landing camera and a thermal spectrometer for remote geological analysis as well as weather sensing are included.