CU Boulder And Lockheed Martin To Send 2 Suitcase-Sized Satellites To Study Binary Asteroids

From CBS Denver:

By Anica Padilla

September 10, 2020

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) — The University of Colorado Boulder and Lockheed Martin just got approval from NASA to lead a new space mission to capture the first-ever closeup look at a mysterious class of solar system objects: binary asteroids. Binary asteroids are pairs of asteroids that orbit around each other in space.

CU Boulder and Lockheed Martin plan to launch two small spacecraft in 2022 — each one about the size of a carry-on suitcase. The spacecraft, which weigh about 80 pounds each, will travel farther than any small satellite to date.

The mission may help to usher in a new era of space exploration, according to Lockheed Martin’s Janus Project Manager Josh Wood.

Read more at CBS Denver