5 research outputs found
Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) - Design, Development and Delivery of a Small Asteroid Lander Aboard Hayabusa2
MASCOT is a small asteroid lander launched on December 3rd, 2014, aboard the Japanese HAYABUSA2 asteroid sample-return mission towards the 980 m diameter C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3.
MASCOT carries four full-scale asteroid science instruments and an uprighting and relocation device within a shoebox-sized 10 kg spacecraft; a complete lander comparable in mass and volume to a medium-sized science instrument on interplanetary missions.
Asteroid surface science will be obtained by: MicrOmega, a hyperspectral near- to mid-infrared soil microscope provided by IAS; MASCAM, a wide-angle Si CMOS camera with multicolour LED illumination unit; MARA, a multichannel thermal infrared surface radiometer; the magnetometer, MASMAG, provided by the Technical University of Braunschweig. Further information on the conditions at or near the lander‘s surfaces is generated as a byproduct of attitude sensors and other system sensors.
MASCOT uses a highly integrated, ultra-lightweight truss-frame structure made from a CFRP-foam sandwich. It has three internal mechanisms: a preload release mechanism, to release the structural preload applied for launch across the separation mechanism interface; a separation mechanism, to realize the ejection of MASCOT from the semi-recessed stowed position within HAYABUSA2; and the mobility mechanism, for uprighting and hopping. MASCOT uses semi-passive thermal control with Multi-Layer Insulation, two heatpipes and a radiator for heat rejection during operational phases, and heaters for thermal control of the battery and the main electronics during cruise. MASCOT is powered by a primary battery during its on-asteroid operational phase, but supplied by HAYABUSA2 during cruise for check-out and calibration operations as well as thermal control. All housekeeping and scientific data is transmitted to Earth via a relay link with the HAYABUSA2 main-spacecraft, also during cruise operations. The link uses redundant omnidirectional UHF-Band transceivers and patch antennae on the lander. The MASCOT On-Board Computer is a redundant system providing data storage, instrument interfacing, command and data handling, as well as autonomous surface operation functions. Knowledge of the lander’s attitude on the asteroid is key to the success of its uprighting and hopping function. The attitude is determined by a threefold set of sensors: optical distance sensors, photo electric cells and thermal sensors. A range of experimental sensors is also carried.
MASCOT was build by the German Aerospace Center, DLR, with contributions from the French space agency, CNES.
The system design, science instruments, and operational concept of MASCOT will be presented, with sidenotes on the development of the mission and its integration with HAYABUSA2
Concurrent AIV and Dynamic Model Strategy in Response to the New Normal of so called Death March Projects: The Engineering Venture as Experienced in the DLR MASCOT and Hayabusa-2 Project
As today’s projects increase quickly in complexity and development times are shortened to save budgets, the term “Death March Project” has been recently used to describe projects which schedules are so compressed that current and well established processes cannot be followed in order to finalize the project in the given time. MASCOT, a small 11 kg Asteroid Landing Package on-board JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 space probe is currently being finalized at DLR. Its last stages during the Assembly, Integration and Verification (AIV) process show that by applying a unique mix of conventional and tailored Model Philosophies it is possible to dynamical adapt the test program, limited by a fixed launch date, to accomplish for the shortest planning and a suitable weighing of costs and risks. Introducing “Concurrent AIV” to identify and mitigate design and manufacturing issues shortened the MASCOT project timeline further from a general 4 year AIV phase to less than 2 years
MASCOT: Communications With a Small Probe on Ryugu Asteroid
On October 3rd, 2018 and after a 4-year travel into space attached to the Japanese probe Hayabusa-2, the German French probe MASCOT, the size of a big shoebox, landed on the asteroid Ryugu. The objective was to study in-situ the structure of the asteroid. The article focuses on the communication subsystem of the mission providing a radiofrequency link between Hayabusa-2 and MASCOT. This subsystem, including the transceivers, the harness, the antennae and the onboard intelligence has been at the heart of a multinational team to provide the best conditions for MASCOT data to be transmitted. The first part of the article details the overall communication system architecture and validation before landing, including some validation operations during cruise. A second part presents the analysis of the communication system telemetry during the mission, from separation to the very end, giving an understanding of the mission events sequence
MASCOT—The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout Onboard the Hayabusa2 Mission
International audienceOn December 3rd, 2014, the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) launched successfully the Hayabusa2 (HY2) spacecraft to its journey to Near Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu. Aboard this spacecraft is a compact landing package, MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid surface SCOuT), which was developed by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in collaboration with the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Similar to the famous predecessor mission Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, will also study an asteroid and return samples to Earth. This time, however, the target is a C-type asteroid which is considered to be more primitive than (25143) Itokawa and provide insight into an even earlier stage of our Solar System