JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Technology
.

NASA's First Image of Mars from a CubeSat

Oct 22, 2018
One of NASA's twin MarCO spacecraft took this image of Mars on October 2 -- the first time a CubeSat, a kind of low-cost, briefcase-sized spacecraft -- has done so.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
One of NASA's twin MarCO spacecraft took this image(annotated) of Mars on October 2 -- the first time a CubeSat, a kind of low-cost, briefcase-sized spacecraft -- has done so.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The image was produced by one of the twin briefcase-sized MarCO spacecraft, the first CubeSats to fly to deep space.

NASA's MarCO mission was designed to find out if briefcase-sized spacecraft called CubeSats could survive the journey to deep space. Now, MarCO - which stands for Mars Cube One - has Mars in sight.

One of the twin MarCO CubeSats snapped this image of Mars on Oct. 3 - the first image of the Red Planet ever produced by this class of tiny, low-cost spacecraft. The two CubeSats are officially called MarCO-A and MarCO-B but nicknamed "EVE" and "Wall-E" by their engineering team.

A wide-angle camera on top of MarCO-B produced the image as a test of exposure settings. The MarCO mission, led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, hopes to produce more images as the CubeSats approach Mars ahead of Nov. 26. That's when they'll demonstrate their communications capabilities while NASA's InSight spacecraft attempts to land on the Red Planet. (The InSight mission won't rely on them, however; NASA's Mars orbiters will be relaying the spacecraft's data back to Earth.)

This image was taken from a distance of roughly 8 million miles (12.8 million kilometers) from Mars. The MarCOs are "chasing" Mars, which is a moving target as it orbits the Sun. In order to be in place for InSight's landing, the CubeSats have to travel roughly 53 million miles (85 million kilometers). They have already traveled 248 million miles (399 million kilometers).

MarCO-B's wide-angle camera looks straight out from the deck of the CubeSat. Parts related to the spacecraft's high-gain antenna are visible on either side of the image. Mars appears as a small red dot at the right of the image.

To take the image, the MarCO team had to program the CubeSat to rotate in space so that the deck of its boxy "body" was pointing at Mars. After several test images, they were excited to see that clear, red pinprick.

"We've been waiting six months to get to Mars," said Cody Colley, MarCO's mission manager at JPL. "The cruise phase of the mission is always difficult, so you take all the small wins when they come. Finally seeing the planet is definitely a big win for the team."

For more information about MarCO, visit:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/marco.php

News Media Contact

Andrew Good

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-393-2433

andrew.c.good@jpl.nasa.gov

2018-243

Related News

Technology .

Futuristic Space Technology Concepts Selected by NASA for Initial Study

Mars .

NASA’s Perseverance Pays Off Back Home

Technology .

NASA’s DC-8 Returns to Flight

Technology .

NASA Confirms New SIMPLEx Mission Small Satellite to Blaze Trails Studying Lunar Surface

Earth .

Follow Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich in Real Time As It Orbits Earth

Climate Change .

US-European Mission Launches to Monitor the World's Oceans

Climate Change .

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Satellite Prepared for Launch

Exoplanets .

16-Year-Old Cosmic Mystery Solved, Revealing Stellar Missing Link

Climate Change .

NASA TV to Air Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Launch, Prelaunch Activities

Climate Change .

Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich Prepared for Launch

Explore More

Topic .

Technology

Video .

Working Remotely: How Astronauts Upgraded a Complex Experiment in Space

Infographic .

Caltech (Verma,Akhil phD. Planetary Science)

Video .

NASA Climbing Robot Scales Cliffs and Looks for Life

Infographic .

Voyager 2: By the Numbers

Infographic .

Grand Challenge Initiative

Video .

OnSight: Virtual Visit to Mars

Infographic .

Pi in the Sky 5

Infographic .

Understanding the Ionosphere: NASA's ICON Mission

Infographic .

2018 Poker Flat Sounding Rocket Campaign Quick Look

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors of JPL
JPL History
Documentary Series
Virtual Tour
Annual Reports
Missions
All
Current
Past
Future
News
All
Earth
Mars
Solar System
Universe
Technology
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Infographics
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Engage
JPL and the Community
Lecture Series
Public Tours
Events
Team Competitions
JPL Speakers Bureau
Topics
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Stars and Galaxies
Exoplanets
Technology
JPL Life
For Media
Contacts and Information
Press Kits
More
Asteroid Watch
Robotics at JPL
Subscribe to Newsletter
Universe Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Manager: Veronica McGregor
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono