The DESTINY ⁺ Dust Analyser — a dust telescope for analysing cosmic dust dynamics and composition

Abstract

The DESTINY + (Demonstration and Experiment of Space Technology for INterplanetary voYage with Phaethon fLyby and dUst Science) Dust Analyser (DDA) is a state-of-the-art dust telescope for the in situ analysis of cosmic dust particles. As the primary scientific payload of the DESTINY + mission, it serves the purpose of characterizing the dust environment within the Earth–Moon system, investigating interplanetary and interstellar dust populations at 1 AU from the Sun and studying the dust cloud enveloping the asteroid (3200) Phaethon. DDA features a two-axis pointing platform for increasing the accessible fraction of the sky. The instrument combines a trajectory sensor with an impact ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer, enabling the correlation of dynamical, physical and compositional properties for individual dust grains. For each dust measurement, a set of nine signals provides the surface charge, particle size, velocity vector, as well as the atomic, molecular and isotopic composition of the dust grain. With its capabilities, DDA is a key asset in advancing our understanding of the cosmic dust populations present along the orbit of DESTINY + . In addition to providing the scientific context, we are presenting an overview of the instrument’s design and functionality, showing first laboratory measurements and giving insights into the observation planning. This article is part of a theme issue ‘Dust in the Solar System and beyond’.

The unresolved mystery of dust particle swarms within the magnetosphere

“…(b) Future investigation with DESTINY + JAXA's DESTINY + mission is a planned small-body science mission to active asteroid 3200 Phaethon, scheduled for launch in 2025. It carries the DESTINY + Dust Analyzer (DDA), a state-of-the-art dust detector that allows for the simultaneous analysis of particles' dynamical (via charge-sensitive entry grids) and compositional (via an impact plasma mass spectrometer) information [91]. In addition to studying the dust environment of Phaethon, DDA will conduct science operations during the entire nominal mission duration of 3 years, to study interplanetary and interstellar dust [92].…”