The space agency announced late on Monday that it will launch a new mission in 2016, named InSight, to hopefully figure out whether the core of Mars is solid or liquid like Earth's, and why Mars' crust is not divided into tectonic plates that drift like they do on Earth.

The next Mars rover, InSight. Image: Courtesy of NASA.

"The is a top priority for NASA, and the selection of InSight ensures we will continue to unlock the mysteries of the Red Planet and lay the groundwork for a future human mission there," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The recent successful landing of the Curiosity rover has galvanized public interest in space exploration and today's announcement makes clear there are more exciting Mars missions to come."

The announcement about the upcoming mission comes just two weeks after , landed on the Martian surface. Curiosity, NASA's largest and Mars rover yet, is on a two-year mission to try to discover if the planet ever has been able to support life, even in microbial form.

The 2016 mission, which will be run by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will involve a lander that carries two cameras, a robotic arm and a thermal probe that will pierce the Martian surface to gauge the planet's temperature. Scientists are hoping that will give them clues as to how Mars is cooling.