Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration

On August 8, 2015, the first two SIMPLEx missions were selected: Q-PACE and LunaH-Map.NASA, [https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/viewrepositorydocument/cmdocumentid=478898/solicitationId=%7B1DDABD1B-6261-1D15-874A-67BB42357C3A%7D/viewSolicitationDocument=1/SIMPLEx14%20Selections_Abstracts.pdf Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration Program Abstracts of selected proposals], August 8, 2015. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2022. They were both CubeSats and each had a maximum budget of $5.6 million.{{Cite web|title=CubeSats to the Moon|url=https://www.planetary.org/articles/0902-cubesats-to-the-moon|access-date=2021-12-31|website=The Planetary Society}} Q-PACE launched on a Virgin Orbit LauncherOne as part of the ELaNa 20 mission. LunaH-Map was a 6U CubeSat that was intended to map hydrogen on the Moon, but failed to enter lunar orbit. The mission launched as a secondary payload on Artemis I.{{Cite web|date=1 March 2021|title=Explore Solar System and Beyond - PAC Meeting|url=https://science.nasa.gov/science-red/s3fs-public/atoms/files/01_PSD_Update_Lori_Glaze_TAGGED.pdf|access-date=25 December 2021|website=NASA}}{{Cite web|last=Blufish|date=2021-07-23|title=ASU-led LunaH-Map spacecraft delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center|url=https://azbigmedia.com/business/asu-led-lunah-map-spacecraft-delivered-to-nasas-kennedy-space-center/|access-date=2022-01-12|website=AZ Big Media}}

Three SIMPLEx-2 missions were selected in 2019. Janus was going to launch with Psyche and fly past multiple binary asteroid, but was removed from that mission due to the Psyche spacecraft being delayed. Lunar Trailblazer launched with the IM-2 mission to study the Moon's geology and map its water.{{Cite web |title=NASA Confirms New SIMPLEx Mission Small Satellite to Blaze Trails Studying Lunar Surface|url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-confirms-new-simplex-mission-small-satellite-to-blaze-trails-studying-lunar-surface|access-date=2021-12-25|website=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)}} EscaPADE will send two small satellites to Mars to study its magnetosphere.

So far, three missions in the SIMPLEx program have launched and failed, one is postponed with no new launch date, and one is awaiting a new launch date.{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/nasa-just-lost-yet-another-one-of-its-low-cost-planetary-missions/|title=NASA just lost yet another one of its low-cost planetary missions|first=Eric|last=Berger|date=March 5, 2025|website=Ars Technica}}

{{Main|Q-PACE}}

Q-PACE is a 3U CubeSat that would have studied the interactions of small particles in space in order to better understand early protoplanetary disks. The mission launched on January 17, 2021 on Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne as part of NASA's ELaNa program. Contact was never established with the CubeSat.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-26|title=NASA looking for earlier launch of lunar orbiter smallsat mission|url=https://spacenews.com/nasa-looking-for-earlier-launch-of-lunar-orbiter-smallsat-mission/|access-date=2021-12-31|website=SpaceNews|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=Q-PACE|access-date=2021-12-31|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}

{{Main|Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper|l1=LunaH-Map}}

File:Cubesat-LunaH-map.png

LunaH-Map (Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper) is a 6U CubeSat that was to map Hydrogen on the Moon using a neutron spectrometer. This mission launched as one of ten secondary payloads on Artemis I. The mission was designed, built, and tested by Arizona State University. It would have take over a year for LunaH-Map to reach its science orbit, after which its 60-day science mission would begin.{{Cite web|title=LunaH-Map - Satellite Missions - eoPortal Directory|url=https://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/l/lunah-map|access-date=2021-12-31|website=directory.eoportal.org}}{{Cite web|last=University|first=Arizona State|title=LunaH-Map spacecraft safely delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center|url=https://phys.org/news/2021-07-lunah-map-spacecraft-safely-nasa-kennedy.html|access-date=2022-01-03|website=phys.org|language=en}} However, after it launched, the spacecraft’s propulsion system did not work properly, and it failed to enter lunar orbit. It did succeed in testing its neutron spectrometer.{{Cite web |author1=Mike Wall |date=2022-11-23 |title=Artemis 1 cubesat fails to fire engine as planned during moon flyby |url=https://www.space.com/artemis-1-cubesat-lunah-map-engine-burn-fails |access-date=2022-11-28 |website=Space.com |language=en}}

{{Main|Janus (spacecraft)|l1=Janus}}

Janus will send two small spacecraft to explore binary asteroids. The two spacecraft were scheduled to launch with Psyche on a Falcon Heavy rocket. The two identical spacecraft (Janus A and B) are being built by Lockheed Martin and are powered by solar panels and rechargeable batteries.{{Cite web|title=NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=JANUS|access-date=2022-01-05|website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov}}{{Cite web|last=Tomaswick|first=Andy|title=NASA's Janus Mission is Going to Visit Two Binary Asteroids|url=https://www.universetoday.com/147938/nasas-janus-mission-is-going-to-visit-two-binary-asteroids/|access-date=5 January 2022|website=Universe Today|date=23 September 2020 }} The originally intended launch date for Psyche was August 1, 2022, but when that date was delayed to September 20, NASA had to replan the trajectories for the Janus spacecraft.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-09 |title=Psyche launch delay forcing revamp of rideshare mission |url=https://spacenews.com/psyche-launch-delay-forcing-revamp-of-rideshare-mission/ |access-date=2022-06-30 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}} The Psyche launch was then moved to October 2023, but this new launch date will not allow Janus to complete its mission, so Janus was removed from the Psyche launch plan.{{Cite web |title=Janus Mission Removed from 2023 Psyche Launch Manifest – Janus |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/janus/2022/11/18/janus-mission-removed-from-2023-psyche-launch-manifest/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=blogs.nasa.gov |date=18 November 2022 |language=en-US}}

{{Main|Lunar Trailblazer}}

File:Lunar trailblazer artist's view.jpg

The Lunar Trailblazer orbiter's mission was to study water ice on the Moon and determine how it formed, how common it is, and where it is. The small spacecraft should have been capable of looking inside permanently shadowed craters for water ice. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.{{Cite web |last=NASA |first=Jet Propulsion Laboratory |date=2020-12-04 |title=Lunar Trailblazer: NASA Approves New Satellite to Map the Moon's Surface |url=https://scitechdaily.com/lunar-trailblazer-nasa-approves-new-satellite-to-map-the-moons-surface/amp/ |access-date=2022-01-05 |website=SciTechDaily |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Lunar Trailblazer |url=http://trailblazer.caltech.edu/ |access-date=2022-01-05 |website=trailblazer.caltech.edu |language=en}} The spacecraft was scheduled to be completed in 2022 and was launched on 27 February 2025 as a secondary payload on IM-2, Intuitive Machines' second lunar landing.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-22 |title=NASA moves up Lunar Trailblazer launch |url=https://spacenews.com/nasa-moves-up-lunar-trailblazer-launch/ |access-date=2022-08-06 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}}{{cite web |last=David |first=Leonard |url=https://spacenews.com/ice-hunting-lunar-trailblazer-im2-nearly-ready-january-2025-launch/ |title=Ice-hunting Lunar Trailblazer and IM-2 nearly ready for January 2025 launch |work=SpaceNews |date=12 September 2024 |access-date=12 September 2024}} The original plan was to launch Lunar Trailblazer as a secondary payload with the IMAP mission in 2025, but since the spacecraft would have been ready years before it was scheduled to launch, NASA found an earlier launch opportunity.

Soon after launch, NASA lost contact with the spacecraft.

{{main article|EscaPADE}}

EscaPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) will send two identical spacecraft to Mars. The spacecraft has been built by Rocket Lab and is based on its Photon spacecraft bus. EscaPADE will study Mars' magnetosphere and how it has led to Mars losing much of its atmosphere. The mission was originally going to launch with Janus and Psyche, but was removed from the Psyche launch manifest in 2020.{{Cite web|title=An ESCAPADE to Mars, on the cheap|url=https://www.planetary.org/planetary-radio/robert-lillis-escapade-mars|access-date=2021-12-31|website=The Planetary Society}}{{Cite web|title=NASA's ESCAPADE Mission – Twin Martian Orbiters – Moves Toward Launch – ESCAPADE|url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/escapade/2021/08/20/nasas-escapade-mission-twin-martian-orbiters-moves-toward-launch/|access-date=2021-12-25|website=blogs.nasa.gov|date=20 August 2021 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2021-08-28|title=NASA Mars smallsat mission passes review|url=https://spacenews.com/nasa-mars-smallsat-mission-passes-review/|access-date=2021-12-30|website=SpaceNews|language=en-US}} On February 9, 2023, NASA announced that Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket would launch EscaPADE in late 2024. It would’ve been put on a trajectory to arrive at Mars eleven months later. It was listed as the only payload instead of being co-manifested with something.{{Cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=2023-02-10 |title=Blue Origin wins first NASA business for New Glenn |url=https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-wins-first-nasa-business-for-new-glenn/ |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=SpaceNews |language=en-US}} The launch was later delayed to spring 2025 on account of delays with New Glenn.

• Discovery Program
• Explorers program

{{Reflist}}{{NASA space program}}{{Planetary exploration}}

Category:NASA programs