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MarCO CubeSats Steer Toward Mars

An artist's concept of one of NASA's MarCO CubeSats.

June 01, 2018

An artist's concept of one of NASA's MarCO CubeSats. The twin MarCOs are the first CubeSats to complete a trajectory correction maneuver, firing their thrusters to guide themselves toward Mars.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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The payload fairing of the Atlas V rocket that would launch NASA's InSight lander to Mars is lifted up so that it can be mated to the top of the rocket.
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The payload fairing of the Atlas V rocket that would launch NASA's InSight lander to Mars is lifted up so that it can be mated to the top of the rocket.
InSight Payload Fairing Lift and Mate
The 2019 Small Satellite Mission of the Year Award sitting at a MarCO exhibit space at the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah.
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The 2019 Small Satellite Mission of the Year Award sitting at a MarCO exhibit space at the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah.
MarCO Award at Small Satellite Conference
NASA’s InSight mission team in the surface operations area at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, converging on computer screens to get a glimpse of the first picture of Mars on ...
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NASA’s InSight mission team in the surface operations area at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, converging on computer screens to get a glimpse of the first picture of Mars on Nov. 26, 2018.
InSight Team Reacts to First Picture
NASA's InSight spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to begin final preparations for launch.
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NASA's InSight spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, to begin final preparations for launch. InSight will be the first mission to look deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet's interior by listening for marsquakes and measuring its heat output. It will be the first planetary spacecraft to launch from this west coast launch facility. The launch period for InSight opens May 5, 2018 and continues through June 8, 2018.
Mars InSight Arrives at Vandenberg Air Force Base
Viewers on the West Coast may be able to see NASA's Mars InSight lander launch with its destination in sight. The Eta Aquarid meteor shower will be washed out by the Moon this month, but some meteo...
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Viewers on the West Coast may be able to see NASA's Mars InSight lander launch with its destination in sight.
What's Up May 2018
Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu is in charge of the InSight mission’s robotic arm and hand. His work on space robots has led him to give a helping hand back home.
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Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu is in charge of the InSight mission’s robotic arm and hand. His work on space robots has led him to give a helping hand back home.
Robots Lend a Hand
In a JPL lab, a replica of NASA InSight's robotic arm presses with its scoop on crushed garnet near a replica of the spacecraft's self-hammering "mole." Engineers believe pressing like this on Mart...
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In a JPL lab, a replica of NASA InSight's robotic arm presses with its scoop on crushed garnet near a replica of the spacecraft's self-hammering "mole." Engineers believe pressing like this on Martian soil may help the mole dig by increasing friction of the surrounding soil.
Testing How InSight's Arm Will Push on Mars
An artist's rendering of a rocket launching with the InSight spacecraft in May.
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An artist's rendering of a rocket launching with the InSight spacecraft in May.
InSight Launching to Mars
InSight project manager Tom Hoffman and principal investigator Bruce Banerdt pose with their "boarding passes" in 2015, showing that they're both sending their names to Mars.
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InSight project manager Tom Hoffman and principal investigator Bruce Banerdt pose with their "boarding passes" in 2015, showing that they're both sending their names to Mars.
Bunny Suits
In a Lockheed Martin clean room facility near Denver in June 2017, members of the InSight mission's assembly, test and launch operations team remove the inner layer of protective housing that cover...
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In a Lockheed Martin clean room facility near Denver in June 2017, members of the InSight mission's assembly, test and launch operations team remove the inner layer of protective housing that covered NASA's InSight spacecraft while the spacecraft was in storage after a launch postponement.
Spacecraft Coming out of Protective Storage
Engineer Joel Steinkraus uses sunlight to test the solar arrays on one of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 
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Engineer Joel Steinkraus uses sunlight to test the solar arrays on one of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) spacecraft at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
MarCO Being Tested in Sunlight
Why are the tallest peaks in the solar system found on one of its smallest worlds?
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Why are the tallest peaks in the solar system found on one of its smallest worlds?
Mars in a Minute: How Did Mars Get Such Enormous Mountains?
Employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory gather on Nov. 26, 2018, to watch InSight land on Mars.
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Employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory gather on Nov. 26, 2018, to watch InSight land on Mars.
InSight Mission Team Gathers Before Mars Landing
An artist's rendition of Mars, highlighting one of InSight's goals -- to figure out just how tectonically active Mars is today and how often meteorites impact it.
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An artist's rendition of Mars, highlighting one of InSight's goals -- to figure out just how tectonically active Mars is today and how often meteorites impact it.
Measuring the Pulse of Mars
Engineers for NASA's MarCO technology demonstration display a full-scale mechanical mock-up of the small craft in development as part of NASA's next mission to Mars.
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Two engineers hold a full-scale mechanical mock-up of a small satellite.
Model of Mars-Bound MarCO CubeSat
Engineers at Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, Colorado, test the robotic arm on NASA's InSight lander several months before launch.
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Engineers at Lockheed Martin Space, Denver, Colorado, test the robotic arm on NASA's InSight lander several months before launch.
Pre-Launch Testing of InSight's Robotic Arm
One of the MarCO CubeSats inside a cleanroom at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, before being placed into its deployment box.
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One of the MarCO CubeSats inside a cleanroom at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, before being placed into its deployment box.
MarCO and Dispenser
The self-hammering mole, part of the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) on NASA's InSight lander, was only partially buried in the soil of Mars as of early June 2019, as shown in this ...
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The self-hammering mole, part of the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) on NASA's InSight lander, was only partially buried in the soil of Mars as of early June 2019, as shown in this illustration.
Current Position of InSight's Mole (Illustration)
Actor Robert Downey Jr. posed with members of NASA's Mars InSight lander team before the Rolling Stones took the stage at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 22, 2019.
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Actor Robert Downey Jr. posed with members of NASA's Mars InSight lander team before the Rolling Stones took the stage at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 22, 2019.
Robert Downey Jr. Meets Team InSight
The robotic arm on NASA's Mars InSight lander moves in place over the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) and opens the fingers of its grapple in this series of images from June 1, 2019.
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The robotic arm on NASA's Mars InSight lander moves in place over the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) and opens the fingers of its grapple in this series of images from June 1, 2019.
Getting Ready to Help InSight's Heat Probe
Donc, vous voulez étudier Mars avec un atterrisseur ou un rover, mais où l’envoyer exactement? Apprenez comment les scientifiques et ingénieurs abordent cette question dans cette vidéo de 60 second...
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Donc, vous voulez étudier Mars avec un atterrisseur ou un rover, mais où l’envoyer exactement?
Mars in a Minute: (French) Comment choisir un site d'atterrissage?
NASA’s InSight has been busy. After landing on the Red Planet, the mission sent home pictures and sound, then placed its first instrument on the planet's surface. Plus, find out what the Curiosity ...
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NASA’s InSight has been busy. After landing on the Red Planet, the mission sent home pictures and sound, then placed its first instrument on the planet's surface. Plus, find out what the Curiosity rover has been up to.
Mars Report: December 2018
NASA's two MarCO CubeSats will be flying past Mars in September 2016 just as NASA's next Mars lander, InSight, is descending through the Martian atmosphere and landing on the surface.
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Artist's concept showing two small satellites flying over Mars as the InSight lander parachutes through the surface of Mars.
Interplanetary CubeSat for Technology Demonstration at Mars
Amruta Mehta, a member of the Mars InSight Roadshow, speaks with a boy at one of the Roadshow's stops in Santa Maria in May 2018.
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This image shows Amruta Mehta, a member of the Mars InSight Roadshow, speaking with a boy at one of the Roadshow's stops in Santa Maria in May 2018.
Amruta Sharing Mars Science
This artist's rendition shows NASA's future InSight Mars lander spacecraft on the Red Planet. The mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2016, is designed to investigate the evolution of Mars.
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This artist's rendition shows NASA's future InSight Mars lander spacecraft on the Red Planet. The mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2016, is designed to investigate the evolution of Mars.
NASA's Future Mars Lander, InSight

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