Launch-ready interplanetary CubeSats just need a lift
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029953
Nature : CubeSats, 10-cm-sided spacecraft often built with off-the-shelf parts, are widely used in low Earth orbit (LEO) for a variety of tasks. Although several CubeSats have been designed for interplanetary missions, however, they are still sitting on Earth, waiting for a ride into space. Generally, the spacecraft piggyback on rockets as secondary or even tertiary payloads. Whereas LEO launches are relatively common, launches into higher orbits or out of Earth orbit are far less frequent. Now NASA and the European Space Agency are planning to include CubeSats on several long-range missions, including technology tests and small probes to the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and Jupiter’s moon Europa.
