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CubeSats and SmallSats

A New Revolution in Spacecraft

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Big Ideas, Small Satellites

The CubeSat revolution is coming, and JPL is at the forefront of helping redefine the way we do science in space. Some of the most elusive and important questions–from distant galaxies to our own planet's climate–need to be solved with space-based instruments. But, the high cost of designing and launching traditional spacecraft is a hurdle that limits both what can be accomplished, and who can do it.

Small, modular, and inexpensive to build and launch, CubeSats are opening up space exploration like never before. They offer a new world of possibilities in research and technology development to everyone: students, universities of all sizes, technology pioneers, and crowd-sourced initiatives.

Power in Numbers

With CubeSats, there's strength in numbers. Entire constellations of CubeSats, flying in formation and working together, could make powerful observations analyzing everything from the nature of Europa's icy shell to the extremely low-frequency energy of far-away galactic nuclei and black holes .

For more complex missions, swarms of CubeSats could be anchored by a single "hub" -- a powerful central spacecraft that can handle complex computational tasks and data transmission back to Earth. Keeping each CubeSat simple and focused will allow for more inexpensive deployment, greater reliability, and the incremental ability to add new CubeSats or replace malfunctioning units.

JPL at the Forefront in Several Categories of Exploration

The immense promise of CubeSat technology has created an explosion in new ideas and initiatives. JPL is at the forefront of developing CubeSats that can analyze and answer some of our most important scientific questions.

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Planet-Hunter CubeSat Images Los Angeles

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More About CubeSats and SmallSats

News July 13, 2021 .

NASA Solar Sail Asteroid Mission Readies for Launch on Artemis I

News Feb. 8, 2021 .

A Pioneering NASA Mini Weather Satellite Ends Its Mission

News June 2, 2020 .

JPL Mission Breaks Record for Smallest Satellite to Detect an Exoplanet

News April 27, 2020 .

NASA CubeSat Will Shine a Laser Light on the Moon's Darkest Craters

Mission Spotlight
INSPIRE

The Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE) project will demonstrate the revolutionary capability of deep space CubeSats by placing a nanospacecraft in Earth-escape orbit.

Explore

News Jan. 3, 2020 .

Tiny Satellite for Studying Distant Planets Goes Quiet

News Nov. 27, 2019 .

NASA's Briefcase-Size MarCO Satellite Picks Up Honors

News Oct. 7, 2019 .

NASA Smallsats Can Aid Hurricane Forecasts with GPS

News Sept. 4, 2019 .

An Inside Look at Hurricane Dorian from a Mini Satellite

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