SmallSats Could Have Big Role in Solar Exploration, Too

SmallSats Could Have Big Role in Solar Exploration, Too

SALT LAKE CITY—Using smallsats could help keep planetary science missions going in the current tight budget environment, according to one researcher using the platforms to study Mars.  “The allure of more science per dollar with a tolerance of losing one out of every, say, five [missions] is the way to thrive in a lower budget environment,” said Rob Lillis, the principal investigator of the ESCAPADE mission and the associate director for planeta…