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

Small Satellite Concept Finalists Target Moon, Mars and Beyond

June 20, 2019
One of three finalists selected by NASA for future small satellites, Lunar Trailblazer will detect and map water on the lunar surface to study how its form, abundance and location relate to geology. The principal investigator is Caltech's Bethany Ehlmann. JPL will provide project management.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA has chosen the Lunar Trailblazer project as one of three finalists for future small satellite missions.

NASA has selected three finalists among a dozen concepts for future small satellites. The finalists include a 2022 robotic mission to study two asteroid systems, twin spacecraft to study the effects of energetic particles around Mars, and a lunar orbiter managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to study water on the Moon. At least one of these missions is expected to move to final selection and flight.

The missions will contribute to NASA's goal of understanding our solar system's content, origin and evolution. They will also support planetary defense, and help fill in knowledge gaps as NASA moves forward with its plans for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

The selected finalists are:

Janus: Reconnaissance Missions to Binary Asteroids will study the formation and evolutionary implications for small "rubble pile" asteroids and build an accurate model of two binary asteroid bodies. A binary asteroid is a system of two asteroids orbiting their common center of mass. The principal investigator is Daniel Scheeres at the University of Colorado. Lockheed Martin will provide project management.

Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE): This mission's objective is to characterize (on multiple scales) the acceleration processes driving escape from Mars' atmosphere, as well as how the atmosphere responds to the constant outflow of the solar wind flowing off the Sun. The principal investigator for this mission is Robert Lillis at the University of California, Berkeley. UC Berkeley will also provide project management.

Lunar Trailblazer will directly detect and map water on the lunar surface to determine how its form, abundance and location relate to geology. The principal investigator is Bethany Ehlmann at Caltech. JPL will provide project management.

"Each of these concepts holds the promise to deliver big science in a small package," said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate. "Their miniaturized size enables these systems to be developed at reduced overall costs while performing targeted science missions and testing brand new technologies that future missions can use."

The finalists were chosen from 12 proposals submitted in 2018 through an opportunity called the Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx).

Following an extensive and competitive peer review process, these concepts were selected based on their potential science value and feasibility of development plans. They will receive funding for up to one year to further develop and mature the concept designs, concluding with a preliminary design review (PDR). NASA will evaluate the PDR results, and after that expects to select one or more of the mission concepts to proceed into implementation and flight.

Using small spacecraft - less than 400 pounds, or 180 kilograms, in mass - SIMPLEx selections will conduct stand-alone planetary science missions. Each will share their ride to space with either another NASA mission or a commercial launch opportunity.

"The SIMPLEx program provides invaluable opportunities for increasingly innovative ways to conduct planetary science research," said Lori S. Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA.

The selected investigations will be managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the Solar System Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. The program conducts space science investigations in the Planetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, guided by NASA's agency priorities and the Decadal Survey process of the National Academy of Sciences.

For information on NASA's small satellite activities, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats

News Media Contact

Grey Hautaluoma / Alana Johnson

NASA Headquarters, Washington

202-358-0668 / 202-358-1501

grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-393-9011

agle@jpl.nasa.gov

2019-120

Related News

Mars .

NASA’s Perseverance Captures Dust-Filled Martian Whirlwind

Mars .

Historic Wind Tunnel Facility Testing NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle Rocket

Mars .

Autonomous Systems Help NASA’s Perseverance Do More Science on Mars

Mars .

NASA Releases Independent Review’s Mars Sample Return Report

Solar System .

Venus on Earth: NASA’s VERITAS Science Team Studies Volcanic Iceland

Mars .

NASA’s Curiosity Reaches Mars Ridge Where Water Left Debris Pileup

Technology .

NASA to Discuss Optical Communications Demo Riding With Psyche

Solar System .

NASA’s Psyche Mission on Track for Liftoff Next Month

Mars .

NASA’s Oxygen-Generating Experiment MOXIE Completes Mars Mission

Solar System .

NASA to Discuss Psyche Asteroid Mission, Optical Communications Demo

Explore More

QUIZZES .

Space Trivia

Image .

Martian Whirlwind Takes the 'Thorofare'

Image .

Martian Whirlwind Takes the 'Thorofare'

Image .

Perseverance AutoNav Avoids a Boulder

Image .

Perseverance's AutoNav Leads the Way

Image .

Perseverance's AutoNav Leads the Way

Image .

Perseverance Makes Tracks in Boulder Field

Image .

Perseverance Makes Tracks in Boulder Field

Image .

Curiosity Views Gediz Vallis Ridge

Image .

Curiosity's Path to Gediz Vallis Ridge and Beyond

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
JPL Plan: 2023-2026
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Directions and Maps
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal 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 Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono
CL#: 21-0018