EVE and Wall-E have Mars in focus

The MarCOs – two suitcase-sized CubeSats accompanying NASA's InSight spacecraft – are chasing Mars as it turns around the sun. Along the way, they captured the very first image of Mars by CubeSat!

One of NASCO's MarCO twin satellites – MarCO-B, aka Wall-E – captured this image on October 2, 2018. It was the first time this type of low-cost satellite, called CubeSat, imitated Mars. See an annotated image below. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech.
When you're the only CubeSats to have traveled to Mars, it's easy to create a whole series of firsts. This week (22 October 2018), NASA has released the very first image of CubeSat of the Red Planet, its MarCO mission, currently on its way to Mars, due to arrive in November. Of course, the image is not very dramatic, but imaging is not the task for MarCO-A and MarCO-B, dubbed EVE and Wall-E by NASA Jet Propulsion Engineers. . Instead, the MarCOs – launched on May 5 along with NASA's InSight lander – provide a test of the role the CubeSats could play in future space missions.
InSight will land on Mars next month. This more elaborate mission is designed to study for the first time the deep interior of Mars.
The MarCO CubeSats follow behind InSight on his cruise to Mars. If they reach Mars, they will radio the data about InSight as it enters the atmosphere of Mars and descends to the surface of the planet.
Annotated image of the 1st CubeSat image of Mars. You can see part of the high-gain antenna, essential to the MarCO's work of following NASA's Mars InSight mission while entering the Martian atmosphere. Image via NASA / JPL-Caltech.
NASA said in a statement:
A wide-angle camera above MarCO-B produced the image as a test of the exposure parameters. The MarCO mission, led by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, hopes to produce more images as CubeSats approach Mars by November 26. It is at this point that they will demonstrate their communication capabilities as NASA's InSight probe attempts to land on the red planet. . (However, the InSight mission will not count, Mars NASA orbiters will retransmit the spacecraft data to Earth.)
This image was taken at a distance of about 12.8 million kilometers from Mars. MarCOs "chase" Mars, which is a moving target as it turns around the sun. To be in place during the landing of InSight, the CubeSats have to travel about 85 million kilometers. They have already traveled 399 million kilometers.
The wide angle camera of MarCO-B looks right from the CubeSat bridge. Elements related to the high gain antenna of the spacecraft are visible on each side of the image. Mars appears in the form of a small red dot to the right of the image.
To take the image, the MarCO team had to program the CubeSat for a rotation in space so that the bridge of his "boxy" body is directed towards Mars. After several test images, they were delighted to see this bright red sting.
Cody Colley, Head of MarCO Mission at JPL, explained:
We wait six months to arrive on Mars. The cruising phase of the mission is always difficult, so you take all the little victories when they show up. Finally, seeing the planet is definitely a big win for the team.
Learn more about the CubeSat mission here
The recent photo of Mars is not the only "1st" for Wall-E and EVE. The distant Wall-E image of the Earth and the Moon – acquired May 9, 2018 – just days after the launch of CubeSat on Mars. Read more. Image via NASA JPL.
In conclusion: NASA's MarCO mission, consisting of two CubeSats the size of a briefcase and heading towards Mars, aims Mars!
Via NASA

Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Today, she is the editor of this website. She has won numerous awards in broadcasting and science, including receiving an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes that science is a force for good in the world and an essential tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like organizing a big world party for nature lovers," she says.

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