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takyon writes:

NASA's InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) Mars mission has been rescheduled for May 2018. The mission was planned for launch in March 2016, but was delayed after a leak was found in the vacuum enclosure of a French-made seismometer. Repairs to the instrument will cost the French manufacturers $150 million.

The lander will drill up to 5 meters into Mars's crust and measure temperature as well as seismic activity:

The seismometer instrument's main sensors need to operate within a vacuum chamber to provide the exquisite sensitivity needed for measuring ground movements as small as half the radius of a hydrogen atom. The rework of the seismometer's vacuum container will result in a finished, thoroughly tested instrument in 2017 that will maintain a high degree of vacuum around the sensors through rigors of launch, landing, deployment and a two-year prime mission on the surface of Mars.

$525 million of the mission's capped $675 million budget had been spent by December 2015, and a reassessment of the mission's cost taking into account the two-year delay will occur by August once arrangements are made with the launch vehicle provider.

Also at NPR, NYT, Reuters, NASASpaceflight.

Original Submission

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.

Original Submission

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

Original Submission

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:

Tiny Cubesat Snaps Photo of Mars for 1st Time Ever

A tiny Mars-approaching spacecraft has snapped a photo of its target, marking the first time that a cubesat has ever captured an image of the Red Planet. One of NASA's two briefcase-size Mars Cube One (MarCO) cubesats acquired the image on Oct. 2, when it was about 8 million miles (12.8 million kilometers) from the Red Planet, agency officials said.

The MarCO twins — officially known as MarCO-A and MarCO-B, but nicknamed "Eve" and "Wall-E," respectively, after characters in the 2008 Pixar film "Wall-E" — launched with NASA's InSight Mars lander in early May. The main goal of the MarCO mission is to prove that cubesats, whose operations to date have been restricted to Earth orbit, can indeed make the long trek to the Red Planet. Their success could help pave the way for much greater activity in deep space by small, low-cost spacecraft, mission team members have said.

[...] MarCO-B (Wall-E) took the newly released image to test the exposure settings of a wide-angle camera, NASA officials added in the same statement.

The MarCO duo will attempt to relay home to Earth data from InSight during the lander's Mars-touchdown attempt, which will take place on Nov. 26. But this is not a crucial duty; other NASA spacecraft, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, will do this work as well.

Previously: NASA Launches InSight Mission to Study the Interior of Mars
CubeSats -- En Route to Mars with InSight -- Snap Another "Pale Blue Dot" Image
NASA's MarCO CubeSats Perform Trajectory Correction Maneuvers Towards Mars

Related: NASA to Focus on Small Satellites
NASA Selects CubeSat and SmallSat Mission Concept Studies

Original Submission

upstart writes:

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow1984

Mars InSight Lander on Course for Monday Touchdown

After a six-month voyage from Earth, NASA’s InSight Mars lander, streaking through space at at some 12,300 mph, will slam into the thin martian atmosphere Monday afternoon to begin a nail-biting six-and-a-half-minute descent to the surface, kicking off a billion-dollar mission to probe the red planet’s hidden interior.

“The goal of InSight is nothing less than to better understand the birth of the Earth, the birth of the planet we live on, and we’re going to do that by going to Mars,” said Principle Investigator Bruce Banerdt.

On Earth, plate tectonics and the constantly churning mantle have altered the planet’s deep interior, obscuring its history and evolution. But Mars is a smaller planet and much less active than Earth, retaining the “fingerprints” of those earlier processes.

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

takyon writes:

Beyond Mars, the Mini MarCO Spacecraft Fall Silent

Before the pair of briefcase-sized spacecraft known collectively as MarCO launched last year, their success was measured by survival: If they were able to operate in deep space at all, they would be pushing the limits of experimental technology.

Now well past Mars, the daring twins seem to have reached their limit. It's been over a month since engineers have heard from MarCO, which followed NASA's InSight to the Red Planet. At this time, the mission team considers it unlikely they'll be heard from again.

[...] WALL-E was last heard from on Dec. 29; EVE, on Jan. 4. Based on trajectory calculations, WALL-E is currently more than 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers) past Mars; EVE is farther, almost 2 million miles (3.2 million kilometers) past Mars.

The mission team has several theories for why they haven't been able to contact the pair. WALL-E has a leaky thruster. Attitude-control issues could be causing them to wobble and lose the ability to send and receive commands. The brightness sensors that allow the CubeSats to stay pointed at the Sun and recharge their batteries could be another factor. The MarCOs are in orbit around the Sun and will only get farther away as February wears on. The farther they are, the more precisely they need to point their antennas to communicate with Earth.

The MarCOs won't start moving toward the Sun again until this summer. The team will reattempt to contact the CubeSats at that time, though it's anyone's guess whether their batteries and other parts will last that long.

Previously: InSight Mars Landing Successful; MarCO Sends Pics

Original Submission