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takyon writes:

NASA is looking to bolster small satellite projects (such as CubeSats):

NASA announces the addition of its newest virtual institute to advance the field of small spacecraft systems. The Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI), hosted at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, will leverage the growing small spacecraft community, promote innovation, identify emerging technology opportunities, and provide an efficient channel for communication about small spacecraft systems with industry, academia, and other government agencies.

[...] Depending on the mission objective, a small spacecraft can range in size from a postage-stamp (under an ounce) up to the size of a refrigerator (about 400 pounds). Many recently launched NASA small spacecraft conform to the CubeSat standards - established by academia - in which a single cube (called a one-unit, or 1U) measures about 4 inches on each side, has an approximate volume of one quart, and weighs less than three pounds. The variety of sizes offers spacecraft capabilities tailored to specific science instruments, exploration sensors, or technology demonstrations.

NASA will collaborate with private companies (for example, those that are imaging the Earth or asteroids using satellites):

The White House is announcing its plan today to promote the use of small space satellites — a move aimed at strengthening the U.S.' burgeoning commercial space industry. The project, called "Harnessing the Small Satellite Revolution," is meant to spur collaboration between government agencies, including NASA, and the private sector to find practical uses for small satellites, or smallsats.

These tiny space probes — which weigh anywhere between a few hundred pounds to just a few ounces — can be valuable tools for planetary scientists, as well as provide internet access and monitor space traffic. That's why the White House is looking for ways to boost smallsat production, as well as find ways these private spacecraft can benefit the government. So as part of the new initiative, NASA will be spending up to $25 million to purchase data collected by private companies' smallsats. For now, the space agency is looking for data that can help with its study of Earth science, like detailed images of the planet's surface. NASA will also spend an extra $5 million to make this smallsat technology even more robust.

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takyon writes:

NASA has selected 10 studies that propose using small satellites to study Venus, the Moon, asteroids (including 99942 Apophis), Mars, Phobos and Deimos, Uranus, and Jupiter:

NASA has selected 10 studies under the Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies (PSDS3) program to develop mission concepts using small satellites to investigate Venus, Earth's moon, asteroids, Mars and the outer planets.

For these studies, small satellites are defined as less than 180 kilograms in mass (about 400 pounds). CubeSats are built to standard specifications of 1 unit (U), which is equal to about 4x4x4 inches (10x10x10 centimeters). They often are launched into orbit as auxiliary payloads, significantly reducing costs.

One standout would use an atmospheric probe to measure "vertical cloud structure, stratification, and winds to help understand the chemical and physical processes that shape the atmosphere of Uranus". If launched, it would be the first mission to Uranus since Voyager 2.

Also at The Space Reporter.

Previously: NASA to Focus on Small Satellites

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takyon writes:

NASA has launched InSight, a Mars lander that will study the interior of Mars and measure "Marsquakes":

Initially flying through early-morning fog, a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air force Base's Space Launch Complex 3 to send NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) lander on a six-month journey to Mars.

[...] InSight is a 794-pound (360-kilogram) robotic lander designed to study the interior structure of Mars. With its two solar panels deployed the lander is 19 feet 8 inches (6 meters) long. Based on the design of NASA's 2008 Phoenix lander, the spacecraft is designed to use its eight-foot (2.4 meter) robotic arm to place a seismometer, a wind and thermal shield to protect that instrument and a self-burrowing temperature probe on the Martian surface. The probe will use these science instruments and a radio experiment called RISE to study the deep interior of Mars to learn about how all rocky planets, including the Earth, formed. The InSight mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program.

"The Discovery Program is all about doing firsts, getting to places that we've never been to before, and this mission will probe the interior of another terrestrial planet giving us an idea of the size of the core, the mantle, the crust and our ability to compare that with the Earth," said NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green during a NASA pre-launch briefing on May 3. "This is of fundamental importance for us to understand the origin of our solar system and how it became the way is today."

NASA's next Mars mission will be Mars 2020, a rover currently scheduled to launch in July 2020. InSight is the Discovery Program's 12th mission. The next two to launch will be Lucy (2021) and Psyche (2022). NASA will launch the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) no earlier than May 19.

Also at BBC and USA Today.

See also: Are We There Yet? How scientists and engineers handle a spacecraft's months-long journey to Mars

Original Submission

takyon writes:

First CubeSats to travel the solar system snap 'Pale Blue Dot' homage:

The Insight launch earlier this month had a couple stowaways: a pair of tiny CubeSats that are already the farthest such tiny satellites have ever been from Earth by a long shot. And one of them got a chance to snap a picture of their home planet as an homage to the Voyager mission's famous "Pale Blue Dot." It's hardly as amazing a shot as the original but it's still cool.

The CubeSats, named MarCO-A and B, are an experiment to test the suitability of pint-size craft for exploration of the solar system; previously they have only ever been deployed into orbit.

That changed on May 5, when the Insight mission took off, with the MarCO twins detaching on a similar trajectory to the geology-focused Mars lander. It wasn't long before they went farther than any CubeSat has gone before.

Pale Blue Dot.

Also at Business Insider.

Previously: NASA Launches InSight Mission to Study the Interior of Mars

Related: New Horizons Captures the Farthest Image From Earth Ever Made
New Horizons Spacecraft Will Take a "Pale Blue Dot" Photo in 2019

Original Submission

takyon writes:

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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MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

Watch Online | Landing – NASA's InSight Mars Lander

NASA InSight Mars geological survey landing at 11 AM PST / 2PM EST / 18:00 UTC today - watch live!

Source: https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/timeline/landing/watch-online/

NASA JPL YouTube.

Previously: NASA's InSight Mars Mission Rescheduled for 2018
NASA Launches InSight Mission to Study the Interior of Mars
CubeSats -- En Route to Mars with InSight -- Snap Another "Pale Blue Dot" Image
MarCO CubeSat Takes Image of Mars From 12.8 Million Kilometers Away
Mars InSight Lander on Course for Monday Touchdown at 2:54 PM EST (19:54 UTC)

Original Submission

NASA's InSight successfully lands on Mars after 'seven minutes of terror'

AnonTechie writes:

NASA's latest Mars lander, InSight, successfully touched down on the surface of the Red Planet this afternoon, surviving an intense plunge through the Martian atmosphere. It marks the eighth picture-perfect landing on Mars for NASA, adding to the space agency's impressive track record of putting spacecraft on the planet. And now, InSight's two-year mission has begun, one that entails listening for Marsquakes to learn about the world's interior.

InSight successfully lands on Mars

[Also Covered By]:

CNN

The Guardian

MARS InSight Mission

[Mission Page]: InSight Mars Lander

MarCO CubeSats Successfully Collect and Relay Data During Mars Flyby

takyon writes:

Success of Tiny Mars Probes Heralds New Era of Deep-Space Cubesats

The era of the interplanetary cubesat has definitively dawned.

Less than seven months ago, no tiny spacecraft had ever voyaged beyond Earth orbit. But two briefcase-size probes just blazed a trail all the way to Mars, covering 301 million deep-space miles (484 million kilometers) and beaming home data from NASA's InSight lander during the latter's successful touchdown on the Red Planet Monday (Nov. 26).

The tiny NASA craft, known as MarCO-A and MarCO-B, even photographed Mars and helped researchers collect some data about the planet's atmosphere during their flyby, mission team members said.

Hopefully this new era will include flybys or orbits of all the large asteroids and dwarf planets (Eris, Sedna, Makemake, Haumea, etc.)

Previously: NASA to Focus on Small Satellites
NASA Selects CubeSat and SmallSat Mission Concept Studies
NASA's InSight Mars Mission Rescheduled for 2018
NASA Launches InSight Mission to Study the Interior of Mars
CubeSats -- En Route to Mars with InSight -- Snap Another "Pale Blue Dot" Image
MarCO CubeSat Takes Image of Mars From 12.8 Million Kilometers Away
Mars InSight Lander on Course for Monday Touchdown at 2:54 PM EST (19:54 UTC)
Watch Online | Landing – NASA's InSight Mars Lander

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