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posted by martyb on Monday June 04 2018, @03:14PM   Printer-friendly
from the will-the-next-mission-have-Polo-A-and-Polo-B? dept.

NASA CubeSats Steer Toward Mars

NASA has achieved a first for the class of tiny spacecraft known as CubeSats, which are opening new access to space. Over the past week, two CubeSats called MarCO-A and MarCO-B have been firing their propulsion systems to guide themselves toward Mars. This process, called a trajectory correction maneuver, allows a spacecraft to refine its path to Mars following launch. Both CubeSats successfully completed this maneuver; NASA's InSight spacecraft just completed the same process on May 22.

The pair of CubeSats that make up the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission both launched on May 5, along with the InSight lander, which is headed toward a Nov. 26 touchdown on the Red Planet. They were designed to trail InSight on the way to Mars, aiming to relay back data about InSight as it enters the planet's atmosphere and attempts to land. The MarCOs were never intended to collect any science data; instead, they are a test of miniaturized communication and navigation technology that can blaze a path for future CubeSats sent to other planets.

[...] While MarCO-A corrected its course to Mars relatively smoothly, MarCO-B faced some unexpected challenges. Its maneuver was smaller due to a leaky thruster valve that engineers have been monitoring for the past several weeks. The leak creates small trajectory changes on its own. Engineers have factored in these nudges so that MarCO-B can still perform a trajectory correction maneuver. It will take several more weeks of tracking to refine these nudges so that MarCO-B can follow InSight on its cruise through space.

Previously: NASA Launches InSight Mission to Study the Interior of Mars
CubeSats -- En Route to Mars with InSight -- Snap Another "Pale Blue Dot" Image


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  • (Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday June 05 2018, @03:06PM

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Tuesday June 05 2018, @03:06PM (#688878) Homepage Journal

    I totally disagree with that statement. We have TREMENDOUS diversity in my military. We have the straights, lesbians, the gays, the bisexuals. No trans allowed. Although when a boy wears a dress, maybe he's not a trans. Maybe he is and maybe he isn't. Happy National LGB Pride Month!

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