Mars INSIGHT "Cubesats" Will Be First Micro Satellites At Another Planet

When NASA's InSight Mars lander launches for the Red Planet on Saturday (May 5), it won't be traveling alone. Two small spacecraft, nicknamed "Wall-E" and "Eva," are hitching a ride as the first cubesats to visit another planet. The twin cubesats are tiny spacecraft of a type whose design became popular in the 2000s as miniaturized computers increased the craft's capabilities. While they don't have all the backup systems and capabilities of bigger spacecraft, cubesats are useful for applications such as communications, tracking shipping or performing Earth observation. Until now, all of them stayed close to our home planet.

Credit: NASA JPL