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| Mission type | Asteroids flyby | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | University of Colorado Boulder,NASA | ||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||
| Spacecraft | Janus Serenity and Mayhem | ||||||
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin | ||||||
| Launch mass | 36 kg (×2)[1] | ||||||
| Power | 2 solar arrays and batteries[2] | ||||||
| |||||||
Janus was a plannedNASA mission that would have sent dualspace probes to visit asteroids chosen prior to launch.[3] The mission was part of NASA'sSIMPLEx program and was expected to be launched in 2022 as a secondary payload onFalcon Heavy together with thePsyche spacecraft, but it was removed due to delays withPsyche.[4] The mission budget was limited to US$55 million.[5]
The mission was cancelled in July 2023 and both spacecraft were placed into long-term storage.[6]
The two small 36 kg spacecraft —which fall under the 180 kg mass limit forSIMPLEx missions — will conduct stand-alone planetary science missions. The spacecraft is jointly developed by two teams, based at theUniversity of Colorado Boulder (led by Daniel Scheeres) and atLockheed Martin (led by Josh Wood).
TheJanus team planned to image the two asteroids invisible andinfrared light, using the ECAM-M50 (visible) and ECAM-IR3a (infrared) cameras. These cameras were developed byMalin Space Science Systems and successfully used on theOSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission.[7]
In 2020, NASA gave approval for theJanus mission to proceed to the next phase of development.[5] The mission is managed by thePlanetary Missions Program Office at NASA'sMarshall Space Flight Center inHuntsville, Alabama, as part of theSolar System Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters inWashington, D.C. The program conducts space science investigations in thePlanetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, guided by NASA's agency priorities and the Decadal Survey process of the National Academy of Sciences.Janus is led by the University of Colorado Boulder, where theprincipal investigator (PI) is based, which will also undertake the scientific analysis for the mission. Lockheed Martin will manage, build and operate the spacecraft.
After riding along with the launch of NASA's Psyche mission, theJanus twins would have separated and completed an orbit around theSun, before heading back towardEarth for agravity assisted sling-shot, each going their separate ways to the two asteroids,(175706) 1996 FG3 and(35107) 1991 VH.[5]
Because Psyche's launch date was moved from August 2022 to late September, new targets had to be chosen asJanus would have been unable to visit the initially chosen asteroids(175706) 1996 FG3 and(35107) 1991 VH.[8] Psyche's launch was again delayed on June 24, 2022, to an unspecified date after the end of 2022.[9][10]Janus was removed from the Psyche mission on 18 November 2022, after an assessment determined that it would not be on the required trajectory to meet its science requirements as a result of Psyche’s new launch period.[11]
In July 2023, theJanus mission was cancelled "after considering the opportunities and requirements for alternative missions using the twin spacecraft, and the expected resources available to planetary science in the next few years."[12] The spacecraft will be stored in the event that future funding enables an opportunity to use them. It has been proposed to re-purpose the Janus spacecraft to visit the asteroid Apophis ahead of its close flyby of the Earth in April 2029.[13]
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