Interplanetary CubeSats for asteroid exploration: Mission analysis and design

Benedetti, Gianluca; Bloise, Nicoletta; Boi, Davide; Caruso, Francesco Danilo; Civita, Andrea; Corpino, Sabrina; Garofalo, Erik; Governale, Giuseppe; Mascolo, Luigi; Mazzella, Gianluca; Quarata, Mariangela; Riccobono, Dario; Sacchiero, Giulia; Teodonio, Domenico; Vernicari, Pietro Maria

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.05.011

Cited by 15 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Yim et al (2004) verified the feasibility of this approach by simulating inter-satellite range measurements. Psiaki (2011), Leonard et al (2012), Liu et al (2014), Benedetti et al (2019), andGenova &Petricca (2021) explored the application of this tracking mode in theoretical cases (large and small planetary bodies). Zuber et al (2013) constructed the 420th degree and order moon gravity field model using the early satellite-tosatellite tracking observations from the GRAIL mission.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulated Gravity Field Estimation for the Main Belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Based on a Satellite-to-satellite Tracking Mode

Sun,

Yan,

Gao

et al. 2023

Res. Astron. Astrophys.

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Most asteroids and comets formed in the early stages of the solar system and therefore contain a wealth of information about its birth. The asteroid exploration mission planned in the coming years by China will likely target the celestial body named 133P/Elst-Pizarro (estimated diameter of about 4 km). The orbit of this asteroid stays within the asteroid belt, but nevertheless it displays a comet-like dust tail. In this study, we used differential tracking data between two simulated probes and the data from an Earth station to estimate 133P gravity field model. This observation mode is similar to how the gravity field was estimated for large celestial objects in the GRAIL and GRACE missions, but here the object is the very small 133P asteroid. We compared the estimated gravity fields obtained for 133P from the satellite-to-satellite combined with the Earth-based two-way rang-rate observation mode, with only the Earth-based two-way range rate mode. The results show that the accuracy of the low-degree (4 degree and order) estimate of the gravity field is improved by one order of magnitude by using the satellite-to-satellite combined with the Earth-based two-way rang-rate observation mode with respect to the Earth-only tracking. Furthermore, another order of magnitude improvement in the gravity field solution is gained by decreasing the orbit altitude from 12 to 8 km.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulated Gravity Field Estimation for the Main Belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Based on a Satellite-to-satellite Tracking Mode

Sun,

Yan,

Gao

et al. 2023

Res. Astron. Astrophys.

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“…CubeSats have revolutionized space exploration and scientific research due to their low cost, rapid development cycles, and increased accessibility [1,2]. These factors have led to a surge in CubeSat missions, enabling a wide range of applications across various scientific disciplines [3][4][5][6]. According to the World's largest database [7] from 2000 till the May of 2023, more than 2286 NanoSats (2105 CubeSats among them), weighing less than 10kg, have been launched successfully in total.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Energy Consumption in CubeSat Missions: The Integrated Antenna Approach

Ibrayev,

Meirambekuly,

Karibayev

et al. 2023

Preprint

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One of the future challenges of increasing the harnessed solar power is efficiency using of CubeSat sides. One of the approaches is using integrated antenna systems with solar panels or payloads. This study proposes a new approach to the use of integrated antenna systems in remote sensing missions. In this approach, due to the integration of antenna system with payload (in our case, with camera), it is possible to achieve a significant increase in the power generation. Calculations are carried out for cases when the antenna system are integrated with the optical system (α = 0°), which implies that they use one plane, in the second case they are spaced at an angle of α = 90° and in the third case when they are directed to opposite sides (α =180°). In the case of α = 0°, where the camera and antenna module are aligned co-axially, there is no energy expenditure for CubeSat orientation. However, in the other two cases, energy is required for rotation and maintenance of the specified orientation throughout the entire duration of the satellite's flight over the ground station, amounting to 111.99 mW when α = 90° and 44.33 mW when α = 180°.

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“…The numerical results and computational times assure this is a first step towards demonstrating the feasibility and autonomy of the proposed mission concept. Finally, the previous methodology is extended to a constellation of spacecraft which significantly improves in-situ gravity estimation accuracy and convergence (this novel mission concept could be possible due to recent advances in CubeSats for space exploration [40]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orbit-Attitude Predictive Control in the Vicinity of Asteroids with In Situ Gravity Estimation

Sanchez¹,

Vázquez²,

Biggs³

et al. 2022

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics

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This paper presents an integrated model-learning predictive control scheme for spacecraft orbit-attitude station-keeping in the vicinity of asteroids. The orbiting probe relies on optical and laser navigation while attitude measurements are provided by star trackers and gyroscopes. The asteroid gravity field inhomogeneities are assumed to be unkown a priori. The state and gravity model parameters are estimated simultaneously using an unscented Kalman filter. The proposed gravity model identification enables the application of a learning-based predictive control methodology. The predictive control allow for a high degree of accuracy since the

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Interplanetary CubeSats for asteroid exploration: Mission analysis and design

Cited by 15 publications

References 4 publications

Simulated Gravity Field Estimation for the Main Belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Based on a Satellite-to-satellite Tracking Mode

Simulated Gravity Field Estimation for the Main Belt Comet 133P/Elst-Pizarro Based on a Satellite-to-satellite Tracking Mode

Reducing Energy Consumption in CubeSat Missions: The Integrated Antenna Approach

Orbit-Attitude Predictive Control in the Vicinity of Asteroids with In Situ Gravity Estimation

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