DENVER, June 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin
(NYSE: LMT) has been selected to design dual small deep space
spacecraft to visit near-earth asteroids in a mission called Janus,
led by the University of Colorado
Boulder. One of NASA's Small Innovative Mission for
Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) finalists, Janus is designed
to fly by two binary asteroids, or asteroids orbiting a common
center of mass, to image the system using both visible and infrared
cameras. These small satellites will launch in 2022 to reach the
asteroid system in 2026.
"We are excited to partner with University
of Colorado on this challenging mission to be among the
first small sats to return science data from beyond Earth orbit,"
said Chris McCaa, Janus program
manager at Lockheed Martin Space. "Janus will provide the
opportunity to blend our long heritage of mission success in deep
space with the small sat paradigm, helping to pave the way for a
new generation of deep space explorers. Combining our track record
of delivering on principal investigator-led missions and the
caliber of this science team will give us all a greater
understanding of the working of our Solar System."
Downselected for this next phase of NASA's SIMPLEx program,
Lockheed Martin will be working toward preliminary design review.
SIMPLEx is a cost-capped program focusing science investigations on
any Solar System body, except for the Earth and the Sun, using
small spacecraft lighter than 180 kg. The Janus mission is designed
to meet these requirements. The mission will investigate how binary
asteroids form and evaluate existing theories of how these
constantly changing systems evolve.
Deep space missions present challenges beyond what the typical
small sat mission encounters in low-Earth orbit. For example, power
systems must handle a range of Sun distances and telecommunication
systems need to be able to transmit over long distances and be
compatible with the Deep Space Network. Lockheed Martin brings the
experience of deep space exploration system integration into the
design of these ESPA-class, dual small satellites weighing in at
about 40 kg each.
"All deep space missions require a balance of reliability and
schedule assurance to be successful and, unlike a mission to
low-Earth orbit, you must meet the planetary launch window. The
asteroids won't wait for us," said McCaa. "To meet those
challenges, we will be applying proven methods from missions such
as OSIRIS-REx and Lucy as well as leveraging lessons learned while
developing other small sat missions such as LunIR."
The Janus mission is led by Principal Investigator Dan Scheeres of University
of Colorado Boulder in Boulder,
Colorado. If selected in the final stage, Lockheed Martin
Space will design and build the spacecraft and provide mission
operations after launch. Malin Space Science Systems will provide
the instrument suite including visible and infrared cameras. The
selected investigations will be managed by the Planetary Missions
Program Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Alabama as part of the
Solar System Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in
Washington.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda,
Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace
company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is
principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology
systems, products and services.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin