NASA to Store Janus Spacecraft, Mission to Study Asteroid Systems

After a launch postponement made its primary science targets inaccessible to the spacecraft, NASA has concluded the Janus mission and directed the project to prepare the spacecraft for long-term storage.

Designed to send twin small satellite spacecraft to study two separate binary asteroid systems, Janus was originally a ride-along on the Psyche mission’s scheduled 2022 launch. Psyche’s new October 2023 launch period, however, cannot deliver the two spacecraft to the mission’s original targets, and Janus was subsequently removed from the manifest.

After considering the opportunities and requirements for alternative missions using the twin spacecraft, and the expected resources available to planetary science in the next few years, NASA has decided to stand down further work on the Janus mission. The project will complete the contracted work remaining on the two spacecraft and then prepare them for storage in the event that future funding may enable an opportunity to utilize the spacecraft.

Janus was selected as part of NASA’s SIMPLEx (Small, Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration) program, which provides opportunities for low-cost, high risk science missions to ride-share with selected primary missions. These lower cost missions serve as an ideal platform for technical and architecture innovation, contributing to NASA’s science research and technology development objectives.

SIMPLEx mission investigations are managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the Discovery Program at the agency’s Headquarters in Washington.

Janus Mission Removed from 2023 Psyche Launch Manifest

NASA has removed its Janus mission from the Psyche mission’s 2023 launch manifest after an assessment determined that Janus would not be on the required trajectory to meet its science requirements as a result of Psyche’s new launch period.

The Janus mission, which was designed to send twin small satellite spacecraft to study two separate binary asteroid systems, was originally manifested as a ride-along on the Psyche mission’s missed 2022 launch. The new October 2023 launch period, however, cannot deliver the two spacecraft to either the mission’s original targets or to any appropriate target to reach their science objectives.

The spacecraft currently reside at Lockheed Martin, which designed and built them, and mission design assessments are ongoing for potential future science targets. The University of Colorado Boulder leads the Janus science team.

The small satellite mission is part of NASA’s Small, Innovative Missions for PLanetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, which provides opportunities for low-cost, high risk science missions that are responsive to requirements for flexibility. These lower cost missions serve as an ideal platform for technical and architecture innovation, contributing to NASA’s science research and technology development objectives. SIMPLEx mission investigations are managed by the Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama as part of the Discovery Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, is managing the launch services for Psyche.

NASA Assesses Options for Janus Mission

With the recent cancellation of the 2022 launch of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, NASA is assessing options for its Janus mission, which was scheduled to launch as a rideshare on the same rocket. Janus is a SIMPLEx-class mission originally designed to send two small satellites (SmallSats) to study two near-Earth binary asteroid systems orbiting between Earth and Mars.

As NASA considers all possible options for the future of the Psyche mission, members of Janus’ science team, led out of the University of Colorado Boulder, are gauging the reachability of their original binary asteroid targets in the event that Psyche launches in 2023 or 2024. The team is also evaluating other potential asteroid targets that could generate valuable insights into the evolution of these rubble pile asteroid systems. The team at Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, is currently completing the twin Janus spacecraft, which are on track to complete integration and testing later this year as planned.

SIMPLEx missions, which provide opportunities for low-cost, high-impact science, are selected with the understanding that they can be responsive to requirements for flexibility. Designed and built to tolerate relatively high risk, these missions serve as an ideal platform for technical and architecture innovation, contributing to NASA’s science research and technology development objectives.