Micro-Scanning Laser Range Finders and Position-Attitude Determination for Formation Flight

There are several space missions which require a cluster of micro spacecraft with small area of several kilometer. We propose an asteroid mission by means of several micro spacecraft in formation flight. We are in progress to develop a micro-scanning laser range finder (MS-LRF) for navigation system of such cluster missions. The MS-LRF is a LRF which utilized a two-dimensional scanner fabricated by micromachine technology. Also we propose navigation algorithm to determine the relative position and attitude of member spacecraft in the cluster using MS-LRFs

Micro Scanning Laser Range Sensor for Planetary Exploration

This paper proposes a new type of scanning laser range sensor for planetary exploration. The proposed sensor has advantages of small size, light weight, and low power consumption with the help of micro electrical mechanical systems technology. We are in the process of developing a miniature two dimensional optical sensor which is driven by a piezoelectric actuator. In this paper, we present the mechanisms and system concept of a micro scanning laser range sensor