{"id":18152,"date":"2019-02-07T01:45:54","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T17:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/two-mini-probes-fade-into-the-sunset-beyond-mars-is-opportunity-rover-next\/"},"modified":"2019-02-07T01:45:54","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T17:45:54","slug":"two-mini-probes-fade-into-the-sunset-beyond-mars-is-opportunity-rover-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/two-mini-probes-fade-into-the-sunset-beyond-mars-is-opportunity-rover-next\/","title":{"rendered":"Two mini-probes fade into the sunset beyond Mars: Is Opportunity rover next?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_464018\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-464018\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-464018\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181126-marco-630x402.jpg\" alt=\"Mars view from MarCO\" width=\"630\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181126-marco-630x402.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181126-marco-768x491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181126-marco-1260x805.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/181126-marco.jpg 1691w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-464018\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This image of Mars was captured by one of NASA\u2019s MarCO satellites from a distance of about 4,700 miles, about 10 minutes after the descent of NASA\u2019s Mars InSight lander on Nov. 26, 2018. The grid seen on the right edge of the image is the spacecraft\u2019s high-gain antenna. (NASA \/ JPL-Caltech Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Farewell, WALL-E and EVE: NASA says it\u2019s lost contact with two briefcase-sized MarCO nanosatellites, more than two months after their history-making Mars flyby.<\/p>\n<p>And yet another robotic explorer, NASA\u2019s Opportunity rover, has been mute on Mars for eight months, heightening suspicions that its&nbsp;15-year watch could be at an end.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s still hope for Oppy: Mission managers at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory say they haven\u2019t been able to rouse the golf-cart-sized robot since a global dust storm wiped kept it from recharging its solar-powered battery system last June. But with Martian winter closing in,&nbsp;they\u2019ve just begun a new set of wakeup strategies.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s less hope for the two MarCO satellites, whose nicknames come from a couple of robotic characters in the Disney\/Pixar animated film \u201cWALL-E.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>WALL-E and EVE were launched as secondary payloads with NASA\u2019s Mars InSight lander last May, to test low-cost technologies for generating power and relaying data back to Earth from deep space. Their $18.5 million MarCO mission made history as the first interplanetary voyage taken on by a class of miniaturized satellites known as CubeSats. (MarCO is short for \u201cMars Cube One.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>MarCO was a huge success, sending back not only data but also a crowd-pleasing series of images captured before and after the Nov. 26 flyby.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1092938765264273408&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2019%2Ftwo-mini-probes-fade-sunset-beyond-mars-opportunity-rover-next%2F&amp;sessionId=2f3060fd9a22d4fcf996791f6225b03e2cee307b&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1092938765264273408\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782801756827635657=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The first CubeSats to deep space may have reached their limit. Beyond Mars, #MARCO has fallen silent, but could inspire future @NASA missions. https:\/\/t.co\/enmEeSz1C5 pic.twitter.com\/lgHPhOA5aP<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) February 6, 2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>There had been rumblings about a follow-on mission, but NASA lost contact with WALL-E on Dec. 29, a little more than a month after the flyby. EVE was last heard from on Jan. 4. In this week\u2019s status update, NASA says WALL-E is currently more than a million miles beyond Mars, and EVE is almost a million miles farther out.<\/p>\n<p>The mission team has several theories for why they haven\u2019t been able to contact the pair. Their thrusters may no longer be able to keep the spacecraft steady enough to send and receive commands. Or maybe the probes\u2019 brightness sensors aren\u2019t working well enough to keep the solar-powered spacecraft properly pointed at the sun. The farther out the probes get, the harder it is to maintain precise aim.<\/p>\n<p>WALL-E and EVE are continuing outward in their orbit and won\u2019t start coming back toward Earth and the sun until this summer. The mission team will try to re-establish contact at that time, but it\u2019s unclear whether their batteries and other components will last that long.<\/p>\n<p>Andy Klesh, the mission\u2019s chief engineer at JPL, paid tribute to WALL-E and EVE for blazing a trail that future CubeSats will surely follow.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"WALL-E and EVE Have Gone Silent, NASA\u2019s First Deep Space CubeSats\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hvQPDqb_WzM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis mission was always about pushing the limits of miniaturized technology and seeing just how far it could take us,\u201d Klesh said in the NASA update. \u201cWe\u2019ve put a stake in the ground. Future CubeSats might go even farther.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Going forward, NASA plans to invest roughly $100 million a year in small satellites, including CubeSats. And thanks to the small-satellite revolution, even students from middle schools and&nbsp;elementary schools&nbsp;can build probes for space exploration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s big potential in these small packages,\u201d said John Baker, the MarCO program manager at JPL. \u201cCubeSats \u2014 part of a larger group of spacecraft called SmallSats \u2014 are a new platform for space exploration that is affordable to more than just government agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This image of Mars was captured by one of NASA\u2019s MarCO satellites from a distance of about 4,700 miles, about 10 minutes after the descent of NASA\u2019s Mars InSight lander on Nov. 26, 2018. The grid seen on the right edge of the image is the spacecraft\u2019s high-gain antenna. (NASA \/ JPL-Caltech Photo) Farewell, WALL-E [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1608,927,367,190,4669,4932,20],"class_list":["post-18152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-cubesats","tag-insight","tag-mars","tag-nasa","tag-nasa-jpl","tag-opportunity-rover","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}