Asteria team members prepare the spacecraft in 2017.
NASA/JPL-CaltechIt may be time to mourn another lost space mission. NASA's Asteria satellite has gone quiet, the space agency announced on Friday.
Asteria (short for Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics) is a suitcase-sized spacecraft known as a CubeSat. Its exoplanet-hunting mission came to life in November 2017 when it was deployed into orbit from the International Space Station. It last phoned home on Dec. 5, 2019.
Asteria spent time observing stars for telltale dips in brightness that might indicate the presence of distant planets. Scientists are still studying the data it sent back to see if it successfully spotted any worlds.
The CubeSat had already overachieved. It successfully completed its primary mission in early 2018 and then soldiered on through three mission extensions. But NASA still hoped to gather more exoplanet observations.
NASA hasn't entirely given up. The space agency will continue to try to contact Asteria into March.
CubeSats like Asteria are showing that small, inexpensive spacecraft can deliver meaningful science results. Although we are disappointed that we lost contact with the spacecraft, we are thrilled with all that we have accomplished with this impressive CubeSat," said Asteria program manager Lorrain Fesq.
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