An artist's rendering of the twin Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft on their cruise in deep space. The MarCOs will be the first CubeSats -- a kind of modular, mini-satellite -- attempting to fly to another planet. They're designed to fly along behind NASA's InSight lander on its cruise to Mars. If they make the journey, they will test a relay of data about InSight's entry, descent and landing back to Earth. Though InSight's mission will not depend on the success of the MarCOs, they will be a test of how CubeSats can be used in deep space.
The MarCO and InSight projects are managed for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, by JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.
Name | Value | Additional Values |
---|---|---|
Target | Mars | |
System | ||
Target Type | Planet | |
Mission | Mars Cube One (MarCO) | InSight |
Instrument Host | InSight Lander | |
Host Type | Lander | |
Instrument | ||
Detector | ||
Extra Keywords | Artwork, Color | |
Acquisition Date | ||
Release Date | 2018-03-29 | |
Date in Caption | ||
Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech | |
Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22315 | |
Identifier | PIA22315 |