At the dawn of the space age, nanosatellites, weighing between 1 and 10 kg, were used because of launcher limitations. In the past twenty years, a renaissance has occurred as a consequence of the success of microsatellites in accessing auxiliary and piggyback launch opportunities driving affordability. In addition, the capabilities and flight demonstrations of microelectronics components in orbit and the revolutionary CubeSat initiative have opened up a wealth of flight opportunities and stimulated an explosion in the supply chain. More recently, nanosatellite capabilities have been driven by the twin forces of commercial and scientific innovation. Commercial innovation has driven both the expectation and reality of reliable nanosatellites as companies build their businesses on the back of CubeSat manufacture; scientific innovation has stimulated the development of high-performance satellite payloads and subsystems. This Perspective reflects on the history and current state of the field, and offers a future outlook for nanosatellite science missions.

在太空时代的黎明，由于发射器的限制，使用了重量在1至10千克之间的纳米卫星。在过去的二十年中，由于微卫星在获取辅助和背负式发射机会以推动负担能力方面取得了成功，因此出现了复兴。此外，轨道上微电子组件的功能和飞行演示以及革命性的CubeSat计划开辟了丰富的飞行机会，并刺激了供应链的爆炸式增长。最近，商业和科学创新的双重力量推动了纳米卫星的能力。随着公司在CubeSat制造业的支持下开展业务，商业创新推动了可靠纳米卫星的期望和现实。科学创新促进了高性能卫星有效载荷和子系统的发展。该观点反映了该领域的历史和当前状况，并为纳米卫星科学任务提供了未来展望。