Missions

Ingenuity

The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was a small, autonomous aircraft. It was sent to Mars to perform experimental flight tests to determine if powered, controlled flight at the Red Planet was possible. .

Launch date: July 30, 2020

Deep Space Atomic Clock

The Deep Space Atomic Clock, or DSAC, was a technology demonstration of a small, ultra-precise, mercury-ion atomic clock launched into Earth orbit to test its potential as a next-generation tool for spacecraft navigation, radio science, and global positioning systems. .

Launch date: June 25, 2019

TEMPEST-D

TEMPEST-D was a technology demonstration mission to enable millimeter wave radiometer technologies on a low-cost, short development schedule. .

Launch date: May 21, 2018

RainCube

RainCube (Radar in a CubeSat) is a technology demonstration mission to enable Ka-band precipitation radar technologies on a low-cost, quick-turnaround platform. .

Launch date: May 21, 2018

InSight

InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, was a Mars lander designed to give the Red Planet its first thorough checkup since it formed 4 billion years ago. .

Launch date: May 5, 2018

MarCO

The twin communications-relay CubeSats, built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, constitute a technology demonstration called Mars Cube One (MarCO). .

Launch date: May 5, 2018

ASTERIA

ASTERIA (Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics) was a technology demonstration and opportunistic science mission to conduct astrophysical measurements using a CubeSat. .

Launch date: Aug. 14, 2017

ASTERIA - Extended Mission

Launch date: Aug. 14, 2017

IPEX

The Intelligent Payload Experiment (IPEX) is a 1U CubeSat developed by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and JPL. .

Launch date: Dec. 15, 2015

RACE

The Radiometer Atmospheric CubeSat Experiment, or RACE, is a test of technology designed to improve NASA's Earth science and space exploration capabilities. .

Launch date: Oct. 28, 2014

ISS-RapidScat

The ISS-RapidScat instrument was a speedy and cost-effective replacement for NASA's QuikScat Earth satellite, which monitored ocean winds to provide essential measurements used in weather predictions, including hurricane monitoring. .

Launch date: Sept. 21, 2014

OPALS

The Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science, or OPALS, is a technology demonstration aboard the International Space Station designed to test the use of focused laser energy for space communications. .

Launch date: April 18, 2014