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Missions for Microspacecraft

Missions for Microspacecraft
Missions for Microspacecraft The next wave of planetary exploration could well be conducted by small robotic spacecraft carrying two or three instruments tightly focused on a few scientific questions. The targets for these new microspacecraft will be Earth 's neighbors in the solar system: the Moon, Mars, and the asteroids and comets that pass close to our planet. In the background here is the crater Copernicus, one of the more spectacular features on the mostly inert lunar surface. In the center is the north polar cap of Mars, a repository of water on the now dry and windswept martian surface. To its left is a false-color image of the asteroid Gaspra. USGS / JPL