The SIROCO Asteroid Deflection Demonstrator

There is evidence of past Near-Earth-Objects (NEOs) impacts on Earth and several studies indicating that even relatively small objects are capable of causing large local damage, either directly or in combination with other phenomena, e.g. tsunamis. This paper describes a space mission concept to demonstrate some of the key technologies to rendezvous with an asteroid and accurately measure its trajectory during and after a deflection maneuver. The mission, called SIROCO, makes use of the recently proposed ion beam shepherd (IBS) concept where a stream of accelerated plasma ions is directed against the surface of a small NEO resulting in a net transmitted deflection force. We show that by carefully selecting the target NEO a measurable deflection can be obtained in a few weeks of continuous thrust with a small spacecraft and state of the art electric propulsion hardware

Evolutionary neurocontrol: A novel method for low-thrust gravity-assist trajectory optimization

This article discusses evolutionary neurocontrol, a novel method for low-thrust gravity-assist trajectory optimization

Mission Analysis for the Don Quijote Phase-A Study

The Don Quijote Phase-A study is a definition study funded by ESA and devoted to the analysis of the possibilities to deflect a Near Earth Object (NEO) in the range of 300-800 m diameter. DEIMOS Space S.L. and EADS Astrium have teamed up within this study to form one of the three consortia that have analyzed these aspects for ESA. Target asteroids for the mission are 1989 ML, 2002 AT4 and Apophis. This paper presents the mission analysis activities within the consortium providing: low-thrust interplanetary rendezvous Orbiter trajectories to the target asteroids, ballistic interplanetary trajectories for the Impactor, Orbiter arrival description at the asteroids, Orbiter stable orbits characterization at the asteroid, deflection determination by means of a Radio Science Experiment (RSE) as well as the mission timelines and overall mission scenarios

The Juventas CubeSat in Support of ESA\u27s Hera Mission to the Asteroid Didymos

The European Space Agency’s planetary defense Hera mission will launch to the Didymos binary asteroid system in 2023 (with bodies nicknamed Didymain and Didymoon). Once in vicinity of the asteroid, two 6U CubeSats will be deployed to contribute to the asteroid research and mitigation assessment objectives of the Hera mission. This paperwill describe the Juventas CubeSat, equipped with a low frequency radar payload to characterize the internal structure of Didymoon. Juventas is designed to be operated using the Hera mothercraft as a proxy. This mission architecture creates a new paradigm for CubeSats, requiring high levels of mission autonomy while operating in the challenging environment of a small-body binary asteroid. Juventas will utilize the inter-satellite link to Hera for performing radio science experiments, augmenting the characterization of the asteroid gravity field. Once the radar science and radio science observation objectives have been met, Juventas will perform an attempted landing on the surface of Didymoon to research its dynamical properties

HELENA HERA LIDAR ENGINEERING MODEL ALTIMETER DESIGN

The AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment) is a collaboration between NASA DART mission and ESA Hera mission. The aim is to study asteroid deflection through a kinetic collision. For this mission two spacecrafts will be developed DART provided by NASA and HERA provided by ESA. DART spacecraft will collide with Didymoon, while the orbit change is monitored by ground stations. HERA spacecraft will study the post impact scenario. The HERA spacecraft is composed by the main spacecraft and two small CubeSats. HERA will study the asteroid with imaging, Radar, Satellite-to-Satellite Doppler tracking, Lidar, Seismometry and Gravimetry. We report a first iteration on the LIDAR instrument that we called HELENA (HERA LIDAR ENGINEERING MODEL ALTIMETER). HELENA is a TOF altimeter that provides time tagged distances and velocity measurements. The instrument can be used to support near asteroid navigation and provides scientific information (e.g. asteroid 3D topography, fall dawn velocity).The development of this instrument is done in the frame of an ESA activity. The LIDAR design comprises a microchip laser and a low noise sensor. The synergies between these two technologies enable the development of a compact instrument for range measurements of up to 20 km. We report the LIDAR design, namely, optics, opto-mechanics and electronics

The ESA Hera mission to the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos: Planetary defense and science

The Hera mission is in development for launch in 2024 within the ESA Space Safety Program. Hera will contribute to the first deflection test of an asteroid, in the framework of the international NASA and ESA-supported Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment (AIDA) collaboration. Hera will also offer a great science return

HERA LIDAR INSTRUMENT DEVELOPEMENT

The AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment) is a collaboration between NASA DART mission and ESA Hera mission. The aim is to study asteroid deflection through a kinetic collision. For this mission two spacecrafts will be developed DART provided by NASA and HERA provided by ESA. DART spacecraft will collide with Didymoon, while the orbit change is monitored by ground stations. HERA spacecraft will study the post impact scenario. The HERA spacecraft is composed by the main spacecraft and two small CubeSats. HERA will study the asteroid with imaging, Radar, Satellite-to-Satellite Doppler tracking, Lidar, Seismometry and Gravimetry. We report a first iteration on the LIDAR instrument that we called HELENA (HERA LIDAR ENGINEERING MODEL ALTIMETER). HELENA is a TOF altimeter that provides time tagged distances and velocity measurements. The instrument can be used to support near asteroid navigation and provides scientific information (e.g. asteroid 3D topography, fall dawn velocity).The development of this instrument is done in the frame of an ESA activity. The LIDAR design comprises a microchip laser and a low noise sensor. The synergies between these two technologies enable the development of a compact instrument for range measurements of up to 20 km. We report the LIDAR design, namely, optics, opto-mechanics and electronics

The ESA Hera Mission: Investigating binary asteroid (65803) Didymos and the DART crater

On 26 September 2022 NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft will impact Dimorphos, the satellite of asteroid (65803) Didymos. The impact will change Dimorphos' orbital period around Didymos. As Didymos is an eclipsing binary, and on a close flyby of Earth on this date, the period change can be detected by Earth-based observers. Before impact, DART will deploy the Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroid (LICIACube) that will provide images of the first instants after impact. ESA’s Hera spacecraft will rendezvous with Didymos four years after the impact. It will perform the measurements necessary to fully understand the effect of the DART impact on Dimorphos, in particular by measuring its mass, and investigating its internal structure, and thus determining the momentum transfer and detailed characterization of the crater left by DART

ASIME 2018 White Paper. In-Space Utilisation of Asteroids: Asteroid Composition -- Answers to Questions from the Asteroid Miners

In keeping with the Luxembourg government's initiative to support the future use of space resources, ASIME 2018 was held in Belval, Luxembourg on April 16-17, 2018. The goal of ASIME 2018: Asteroid Intersections with Mine Engineering, was to focus on asteroid composition for advancing the asteroid in-space resource utilisation domain. What do we know about asteroid composition from remote-sensing observations? What are the potential caveats in the interpretation of Earth-based spectral observations? What are the next steps to improve our knowledge on asteroid composition by means of ground-based and space-based observations and asteroid rendez-vous and sample return missions? How can asteroid mining companies use this knowledge? ASIME 2018 was a two-day workshop of almost 70 scientists and engineers in the context of the engineering needs of space missions with in-space asteroid utilisation. The 21 Questions from the asteroid mining companies were sorted into the four asteroid science themes: 1) Potential Targets, 2) Asteroid-Meteorite Links, 3) In-Situ Measurements and 4) Laboratory Measurements. The Answers to those Questions were provided by the scientists with their conference presentations and collected by A. Graps or edited directly into an open-access collaborative Google document or inserted by A. Graps using additional reference materials. During the ASIME 2018, first day and second day Wrap-Ups, the answers to the questions were discussed further. New readers to the asteroid mining topic may find the Conversation boxes and the Mission Design discussions especially interesting.Comment: Outcome from the ASIME 2018: Asteroid Intersections with Mine Engineering, Luxembourg. April 16-17, 2018. 65 Pages. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1612.0070

The ESA Hera Mission : Detailed Characterization of the DART Impact Outcome and of the Binary Asteroid (65803) Didymos

Funding Information: To achieve these objectives, Milani is carrying two scientific payloads, the ASPECT visual and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) imaging spectrometer and the VISTA thermogravimeter aimed at collecting and characterizing volatiles and dust particles below 10 μm. Additionally, navigation payloads include a visible navigation camera and lidar. The Milani consortium is composed of entities and institutions from Italy, the Czech Republic, and Finland. The consortium Prime is Tyvak International, responsible for the whole program management and platform design, development, integration, testing, and final delivery to the customer. Politecnico di Torino is tasked with defining requirements and performing thermal, radiation, and debris analysis. Politecnico di Milano is responsible for mission analysis and GNC. Altec will support the Ground Segment architecture and interface definition. Centro Italiano per la Ricerca Aerospaziale (CIRA) is responsible for the execution of the vehicle environmental campaign. HULD contributes to developing the mission-specific software. VTT is the main payload (ASPECT hyperspectral imager) provider and is supported by the following entities dealing with ASPECT-related development: University of Helsinki (ASPECT calibration); Reaktor Space Lab (ASPECT Data Processing Unit development), Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ASPECT scientific algorithms requirements and testing); and Brno University of Technology (ASPECT scientific algorithms development). INAF-IAPS is the secondary Payload (VISTA, dust detector) provider. Funding Information: The Mission PI is appointed by ESA and is the primary interface to ESA. The Hera SMB consists of the ESA Hera Project Scientist (ESA PS), the Mission PI, and the Hera Advisory Board, consisting of four mission advisors. The Mission PI chairs the HIT and is supported by the Hera Advisory Board. The tasks of the Hera SMB are 1. advising the Hera mission project team on all aspects related to the Hera mission objectives; 2. ensuring that the WGs’ activities cover the needs of the Hera mission; 3. providing recommendations to ESA concerning the membership in the HIT; and 4. implementing the Publication Policy. Funding Information: Hera is the ESA contribution to the AIDA collaboration. Hera, Juventas, Milani, and their instruments are developed under ESA contract supported by national agencies. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 870377 (project NEO-MAPP), the CNRS through the MITI interdisciplinary programs, ASI, CNES, JAXA, the Academy of Finland project no. 335595, and was conducted with institutional support RVO 67985831 of the Institute of Geology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. M.L., E.P., P.T .and E.D. are grateful to the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for financial support through Agreement No. 2022-8-HH.0 in the context of ESA’s Hera mission. We are grateful to the whole Hera team, including Working Group core members and other contributors for their continuous efforts and support. Their names can be found on the following website: https:// www.heramission.space/team. Publisher Copyright: © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Hera is a planetary defense mission under development in the Space Safety and Security Program of the European Space Agency for launch in 2024 October. It will rendezvous in late 2026 December with the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos and in particular its moon, Dimorphos, which will be impacted by NASA’s DART spacecraft on 2022 September 26 as the first asteroid deflection test. The main goals of Hera are the detailed characterization of the physical properties of Didymos and Dimorphos and of the crater made by the DART mission, as well as measurement of the momentum transfer efficiency resulting from DART’s impact. The data from the Hera spacecraft and its two CubeSats will also provide significant insights into asteroid science and the evolutionary history of our solar system. Hera will perform the first rendezvous with a binary asteroid and provide new measurements, such as radar sounding of an asteroid interior, which will allow models in planetary science to be tested. Hera will thus provide a crucial element in the global effort to avert future asteroid impacts at the same time as providing world-leading science.Peer reviewe