New Maps Help Developers Plan Lunar Road Trip for VIPER’s Artemis Mission

 

NASA - VIPER Rover logo.

July 15, 2021

As any seasoned road-tripper knows, to get the most out of an adventure, a good map helps. It’s no different for NASA’s first lunar robotic rover planned for delivery to the Moon in late 2023 to search for ice and other resources on and below the lunar surface. The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is part of the agency’s Artemis program. Without a Moon travel guide, VIPER’s mission planners are creating new high resolution, digital elevation maps of the lunar surface.

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER. Image Credit: NASA

When equipped with these maps, the rover will be in a better position to safely and efficiently traverse the Moon while looking for resources at the lunar South Pole. Ice is a resource of particular scientific interest as it may have applications if found in space and converted to other resources to further our exploration into the solar system such as oxygen and rocket fuel.

At about three-foot (one-meter) scale, these maps provide a 3D model of large swaths of the terrain at the lunar South Pole and show the ever-changing lighting and temperature conditions caused by long shadows that sweep across the landscape.

Besides preventing the rover from tipping down the edges of steep-sided craters, this up-close view of the Moon’s surface provides mission planners vital information to ensure the rover’s solar-powered batteries stay charged and guide the rover toward safe spots to hibernate during communication blackouts with mission operations on Earth.

"We are sending VIPER to one of the Moon’s most dynamic environments, and the rover needs to be able to take what the Moon gives," said Anthony Colaprete, VIPER’s project scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. "That’s why we are creating these unique maps – at human scale – to help us carefully plan routes for the rover while operating safely and collecting the best science possible."

Image above: A spectacular oblique view of the rim of Shackleton Crater near the South Pole of the Moon. The crater is about 13 miles (21 kilometers) in diameter. While no location on the Moon stays continuously illuminated, three points on the rim remain collectively sunlit for more than 90 percent of the year. These points are surrounded by topographic depressions that never receive sunlight, creating cold traps that can capture ices. The narrow angle camera aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter took this photo on Aug. 1, 2006. Image Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University.

Already, the maps are revealing new features of scientific interest on the Moon’s surface, including numerous "mini cold traps" – which are shadowed pockets on the lunar surface 6 to 16 feet (2 to 5 meters) across – that could be cold enough for ice to potentially collect. These micro cold traps offer areas to explore in addition to the much deeper and older craters that are a focus of the VIPER mission.

"We used to think of water ice collecting only in deep, dark craters on the Moon," said Colaprete. "But we now believe that even small, shadowed craters can be cold enough to retain water molecules. These small cold traps are much more common than their larger counterparts, so understanding how they may store water is important to answering the broader question of how water behaves on the Moon."

To create the elevation maps, a team at Ames is using NASA’s open source Stereo Pipeline software tool as well as the processing power of Ames’ Pleiades supercomputer to layer thousands of satellite images taken by cameras aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Engineers are pairing these powerful tools and expertise with a photo processing capability called photoclinometry. This technique, also known as "shape from shading," combines the known angles of sunlight with the greyscale levels of many two-dimensional images to infer the three-dimensional shapes of the lunar surface. The resulting model of the lunar terrain allows engineers to calculate how light and shadows play across the surface at any time in the past or future. For example, using the model they can predict the lighting at the time and place the rover will land, and plan the rover’s movements to keep it in sunlight and avoid the shadows.

Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER). Animation Credit: NASA 

With the lighting conditions known, the team can create detailed temperature maps across the varied terrain, at the surface, and up to a little more than 8 feet (2.5 meters) below. Temperatures can swing widely between 400 degrees below zero and 170 degrees Fahrenheit, making the Moon’s surface a checkerboard of potentially promising and very unlikely locations to detect ice. Equipped with these new maps, the team can pick spots where ice could be and send VIPER to sample and verify whether ice appears, and if so, how stable it is in various lunar conditions.

"These high-resolution maps have entirely changed our thinking," said Kimberly Ennico Smith, a deputy project scientist for VIPER at Ames. "We’re beginning to see how extremely varied the soil conditions on the Moon are, even within areas we once thought as fairly uniform. This will allow us to pinpoint the rover’s drill sites much more carefully and lead us to collect even better science data."   

The VIPER team members responsible for keeping the rover humming along have a keen interest in seeing what the rover will face day-to-day – or rather minute-to-minute.

"Shadows move around the South Pole of the Moon at about the same speed the rover drives," said Mark Shirley, mission operations planning lead at Ames. "We have to plan ahead to avoid VIPER being overtaken by darkness – there’s not much room for error."

Related articles:

NASA Rover to Search for Water, Other Resources on Moon
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/nasa-rover-to-search-for-water-other.html

NASA Selects Astrobotic to Fly Water-Hunting Rover to the Moon
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2020/06/nasa-selects-astrobotic-to-fly-water.html

Related links:

NASA VIPER Moon rover: https://www.nasa.gov/viper

Artemis program: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/

Pleiades supercomputer: https://www.nas.nasa.gov/supercomputing/overview.html

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/main/index.html

Images (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Rachel Hoover.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

Ride With Juno As It Flies Past the Solar System’s Biggest Moon and Jupiter

 

NASA - JUNO Mission logo.

July 15, 2021

The probe flew closer to Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, than any other spacecraft in more than two decades, offering dramatic glimpses of both the icy orb and the gas giant.

Juno Flies Past the Moon Ganymede and Jupiter, With Music by Vangelis

Video above: On June 7, 2021, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter’s ice-encrusted moon Ganymede than any spacecraft in more than two decades. Less than a day later, Juno made its 34th flyby of Jupiter. This animation provides a “starship captain” point of view of each flyby. For both worlds, JunoCam images were orthographically projected onto a digital sphere and used to create the flyby animation. Synthetic frames were added to provide views of approach and departure for both Ganymede and Jupiter. Video Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.

On June 7, 2021, NASA’s Juno spacecraft flew closer to Jupiter’s ice-encrusted moon Ganymede than any spacecraft in more than two decades. Less than a day later, Juno made its 34th flyby of Jupiter, racing over its roiling atmosphere from pole to pole in less than three hours. Using the spacecraft’s JunoCam imager, the mission team has put together this animation to provide a “starship captain” point of view of each flyby.

“The animation shows just how beautiful deep space exploration can be,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator for Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “The animation is a way for people to imagine exploring our solar system firsthand by seeing what it would be like to be orbiting Jupiter and flying past one of its icy moons. Today, as we approach the exciting prospect of humans being able to visit space in orbit around Earth, this propels our imagination decades into the future, when humans will be visiting the alien worlds in our solar system.”

Image above: The probe flew closer to Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede, than any other spacecraft in more than two decades, offering dramatic glimpses of both the icy orb and the gas giant. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.

The 3:30-minute-long animation begins with Juno approaching Ganymede, passing within 645 miles (1,038 kilometers) of the surface at a relative velocity of 41,600 mph (67,000 kph). The imagery shows several of the moon’s dark and light regions (darker regions are believed to result from ice sublimating into the surrounding vacuum, leaving behind darkened residue) as well as the crater Tros, which is among the largest and brightest crater scars on Ganymede.

It takes just 14 hours, 50 minutes for Juno to travel the 735,000 miles (1.18 million kilometers) between Ganymede and Jupiter, and the viewer is transported to within just 2,100 miles (3,400 kilometers) above Jupiter’s spectacular cloud tops. By that point, Jupiter’s powerful gravity has accelerated the spacecraft to almost 130,000 mph (210,000 kph) relative to the planet.

Among the Jovian atmospheric features that can be seen are the circumpolar cyclones at the north pole and five of the gas giant’s “string of pearls” – eight massive storms rotating counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere that appear as white ovals. Using information that Juno has learned from studying Jupiter’s atmosphere, the animation team simulated lightning one might see as we pass over Jupiter’s giant thunderstorms.

JUNO orbiting Jupiter. Animation Credit: NASA

The camera’s point of view for this time-lapse animation was generated by citizen scientist Gerald Eichstädt, using composite images of Ganymede and Jupiter. For both worlds, JunoCam images were orthographically projected onto a digital sphere and used to create the flyby animation. Synthetic frames were added to provide views of approach and departure for both Ganymede and Jupiter.

As planned, the gravitational pull of the giant moon has affected Juno’s orbit, resulting in the reduction of its orbital period from 53 days to 43 days. The next flyby of Jupiter, the 35th of the mission, is scheduled for July 21.

More About the Mission

JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott J. Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno is part of NASA’s New Frontiers Program, which is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver built and operates the spacecraft.

Related article:

JUNO - Celebrating 5 Years at Jupiter
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/07/juno-celebrating-5-years-at-jupiter.html

More information about Juno is available at:

https://www.nasa.gov/juno

https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Karen Fox/Alana Johnson/JPL/DC Agle/Southwest Research Institute/Deb Schmid.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Tianwen-1 Mission to Mars - New images from Zhurong

 

CNSA - Tianwen-1 (天問-1) Mission to Mars logo.

July 14, 2021

Zhurong, the Tianwen-1 mission’s rover, is exploring the Utopia Planitia region on Mars, traveling more than 400m so far.

New images from Zhurong

The images were acquired using the MultiSpectral Camera (MSCam) and the Navigation and Terrain Camera (NaTeCam). Tianwen-1 (天问一号) is China’s first Mars exploration mission with an orbiter, a lander and a rover named Zhurong (祝融).
 
Related articles:

Zhurong landing on Mars & Sounds of Zhurong’s descend onto Mars
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/06/zhurong-landing-on-mars-sounds-of.html

Zhurong rover and Tianwen-1 lander on Mars
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/06/zhurong-rover-and-tianwen-1-lander-on.html

Tianwen-1 Lander and Zhurong Rover seen by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/06/tianwen-1-lander-and-zhurong-rover-seen.html

Zhurong is roving on Mars!
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/zhurong-is-roving-on-mars.html

Why the China Mars rover’s landing site has geologists excited & Zhurong’s first images from Mars
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/why-china-mars-rovers-landing-site-has.html

Tianwen-1 orbiter relays Zhurong rover’s data and images
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/tianwen-1-orbiter-relays-zhurong-rovers.html

Zhurong landed on Mars! The Tianwen-1 rover is on Utopia Planitia (Videos)
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/zhurong-landed-on-mars-tianwen-1-rover.html

China succeeds in landing its rover on Mars
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/china-succeeds-in-landing-its-rover-on.html

Related link:

For more information about China National Space Administration (CNSA), visit: http://www.cnsa.gov.cn/

Images, Video, Text, Credits: China National Space Administration (CNSA)/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga (Screen capture).

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Five Ways NASA Helps With Shark Conservation

 

NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center logo.

Jul 14, 2021

While scientists at our partner institutions are directly focusing on shark conservation, NASA's Earth-observing satellites collect key information about sharks' habitat – the ocean. NASA's satellites measure the height of the ocean, track currents, monitor marine habitats, and oversee water quality events like harmful algal blooms. Our long-term data sets also help us understand how climate change is affecting the ocean and marine life. NASA shares ocean data with conservation groups, researchers and partners like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

1. NASA Satellites Help Track Marine Animals' Movement

NASA satellite data combined with field measurements help scientists construct a clearer picture of the travel routes of sharks and other marine animals. In 2019 with the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite (CALIPSO), a joint venture between NASA and the French space agency, the Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), observed a massive animal migration that takes place on our planet. In this case, marine animals such as fish, krill and squid rise from the ocean depths to the surface to feast on microscopic plants called phytoplankton as well as smaller zooplankton and other animals on a daily basis.

Image above: NASA’s CALIPSO satellite uses lidar to measure the movement of marine wildlife throughout the ocean. Image Credits: NASA/Timothy Marvel.

Studies like this provide information about the food supply available to sharks and how changes in ecosystems could impact the health of sharks and other large marine wildlife. Knowing where marine animals are by using NASA satellite data and field observations also supports sustainable fishing practices and reduces bycatch.

2. NASA Studies the Productivity of Earth's Oceans

From space and ships and autonomous underwater vehicles, NASA's EXport Processes in the Ocean from Remote Sensing (EXPORTS) campaign is studying the ocean's biological pump – the process by which carbon from the atmosphere and surface ocean is sequestered in the deep ocean. This process starts at the surface, where phytoplankton draw carbon out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis. This kicks off the marine food web because phytoplankton turn atmospheric carbon into food when they are eaten by tiny animals called zooplankton. Those in turn are eaten by fish who are eaten by other fish and large marine animals, including sharks. When fish and marine animals die, they can carry the carbon stored in their bodies to the ocean floor.

Image above: Three ships used in the EXPORTS campaign – the R/V Sarmiento de Gamboa (foreground), positioned close to the RRS James Cook (middle) and RRS Discovery (back) – at a meet up point in the northeast Atlantic. Image Credits: Courtesy of Marley Parker.

3. A Hubble Star-Mapping Algorithm Tracks Whale Sharks

Back in 1986, a researcher at Princeton University developed an algorithm to map the stars and galaxies captured by NASA's Hubble Telescope. Now, that algorithm has been adapted to recognize the star-like patterns on speckle-skinned whale sharks. This allows the algorithm to identify individual whale sharks, which helps scientists keep tabs on these rare, 40-foot-long sharks as part of the Australian non-profit ECOCEAN's Whale Shark Photo-Identification Library.

Image above: A diver attaches a tracking tag to a speckle-skinned whale shark. Image Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Paul Morris.

4. NASA Measures Changes in Sea Level Rise and Climate Patterns

NASA has been measuring ocean height for almost 30 years, starting with the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite mission from 1992-2006 and continuing with the Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2, Jason-3 and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich missions. these satellites can detect changes in ocean height within an inch, giving extremely precise measurements of sea level. This information is crucial for understanding storm severity, sea level rise and climate patterns like La Niña, El Niño and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation that impact marine animals.

Sea surface height change from 1992 to 2019, with colorbar

Video above: This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, based on data collected from the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3 satellites. Blue regions are where sea level has gone down, and orange/red regions are where sea level has gone up. Since 1992, seas around the world have risen an average of nearly 6 inches. The color range for this visualization is -15 cm to +15 cm (-5.9 inches to +5.9 inches), though measured data extends above and below 15 cm (5.9 inches). This particular range was chosen to highlight variations in sea level change. Video Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Paul Morris.

Sea surface height data is also useful for cleaning up marine oil spills, sustainably managing fisheries, routing ships and understanding the behavior of ocean animals like Stellar sea lions and whales. In addition, sea level measurements are used to derive ocean surface currents and ocean eddies that continuously stir and mix the water, changing its biogeochemistry and thus impacting the behavior and migration patterns of sharks.

Image above: This visualization shows total sea level change between 1992 and 2019, with orange/red regions indicating where sea levels are rising. Image Credits: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

5. NASA Is Developing New Missions to Study Earth's Oceans

NASA has three new missions planned to study the ocean. Scheduled to launch in 2022, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will measure small-scale ocean currents and swirling eddies to better understand the mixing and transport of water and nutrients as well as the dispersal of pollution into the ocean. Monitoring ocean eddies is important to predict migratory patterns of megafauna, including sharks. SWOT is jointly developed by NASA and CNES with contributions from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and United Kingdom Space Agency.

Image above: An artist’s impression of the future SWOT satellite making sea surface observations, even through clouds. Image Credits: Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (CNES).

The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will use next generation "ocean color" technology to learn more about phytoplankton that live in the upper ocean. In addition to being the base of the marine food web, phytoplankton play a similar role to land plants by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

The Geosynchronous Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR) instrument will provide unique observations of ocean biology, chemistry and ecology in the Gulf of Mexico, portions of the southeastern United States coastline and the mouth of the Amazon River where it enters the Atlantic Ocean. In the future, NASA's upcoming Earth System Observatory will use new and innovative techniques to study all facets of our planet, including the more than 70% of Earth's surface covered by ocean.

Related links:

CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite): http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/calipso/main/index.html

OSTM (Ocean Surface Topography Mission)/Jason-2: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ostm/main/index.html

Sentinel 6 Michael Freilich: https://www.nasa.gov/sentinel-6/

Hubble Space Telescope (HST): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC): https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html

Images (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA's Earth Science News Team/By Sofie Bates.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

JUNO - Celebrating 5 Years at Jupiter

 

NASA - JUNO Mission logo.

Jul 14, 2021

On July 4, 2016, our Juno spacecraft arrived at Jupiter on a mission to peer through the gas giant planet’s dense clouds and answer questions about the origins of our solar system. Since its arrival, Juno has provided scientists with a treasure trove of data about the planet’s origins, interior structures, atmosphere and magnetosphere. 

JUNO orbiting Jupiter. Animation Credit: NASA

Juno is the first mission to observe Jupiter’s deep atmosphere and interior, and will continue to delight with dazzling views of the planet’s colorful clouds and Galilean moons. As it circles Jupiter, Juno provides critical knowledge for understanding the formation of our own solar system, the Jovian system and the role giant planets play in putting together planetary systems elsewhere. Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Learn more about the mission and download other groovy images: 

https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/celebrating-5-years-at-jupiter

Juno: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Yvette Smith.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch

Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on Hubble Space Telescope (Update 3)

 

NASA / ESA - Hubble Space Telescope (HST) patch.

Jul 14, 2021

July 14, 2021 - ​NASA Identifies Possible Cause of Hubble Computer Problem

NASA has identified the possible cause of the payload computer problem that suspended Hubble Space Telescope science operations on June 13. The telescope itself and science instruments remain healthy and in a safe configuration.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Image Credit: NASA

The payload computer resides in the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit. It controls, coordinates, and monitors Hubble’s science instruments. When the payload computer halted, Hubble’s science instruments were automatically placed into a safe configuration. A series of multi-day tests, which included attempts to restart and reconfigure the computer and the backup computer, were not successful, but the information gathered from those activities has led the Hubble team to determine that the possible cause of the problem is in the Power Control Unit (PCU).

The PCU also resides on the SI C&DH unit. It ensures a steady voltage supply to the payload computer’s hardware. The PCU contains a power regulator that provides a constant five volts of electricity to the payload computer and its memory. A secondary protection circuit senses the voltage levels leaving the power regulator. If the voltage falls below or exceeds allowable levels, this secondary circuit tells the payload computer that it should cease operations. The team’s analysis suggests that either the voltage level from the regulator is outside of acceptable levels (thereby tripping the secondary protection circuit), or the secondary protection circuit has degraded over time and is stuck in this inhibit state.

Because no ground commands were able to reset the PCU, the Hubble team will be switching over to the backup side of the SI C&DH unit that contains the backup PCU. All testing of procedures for the switch and associated reviews have been completed, and NASA management has given approval to proceed. The switch will begin Thursday, July 15, and, if successful, it will take several days to completely return the observatory to normal science operations.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Animation Credits: NASA/ESA

The team performed a similar switch in 2008, which allowed Hubble to continue normal science operations after a Command Unit/Science Data Formatter (CU/SDF) module, another part of the SI C&DH, failed. A servicing mission in 2009 then replaced the entire SI C&DH unit, including the faulty CU/SDF module, with the SI C&DH unit currently in use.

Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for over 31 years. It has taken over 1.5 million observations of the universe, and over 18,000 scientific papers have been published with its data. It has contributed to some of the most significant discoveries of our cosmos, including the accelerating expansion of the universe, the evolution of galaxies over time, and the first atmospheric studies of planets beyond our solar system. Read more about some of Hubble’s greatest scientific discoveries.

Related articles:

Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on Hubble Space Telescope (Update 2)
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/07/operations-underway-to-restore-payload_13.html

Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (Update)
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/07/operations-underway-to-restore-payload_8.html

Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on Hubble Space Telescope
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/07/operations-underway-to-restore-payload.html

NASA Completes Additional Tests to Diagnose Computer Problem on Hubble Space Telescope
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/06/nasa-completes-additional-tests-to.html

Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/06/operations-underway-to-restore-payload.html

Related link:

Hubble Space Telescope (HST): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Animation (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Lynn Jenner/Elizabeth Landau/GSFC/Rob Gutro/Claire Andreoli.

Greetings, Orbiter.ch

NASA Solar Sail Asteroid Mission Readies for Launch on Artemis I

 

NASA - NEA Scout Mission patch.

July 14, 2021

Sailing on sunlight, NEA Scout will capture images of an asteroid for scientific study.

Image above: Engineers prepare NEA Scout for integration and shipping at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Image Credit: NASA.

NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is tucked away safely inside the agency’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The solar sailing CubeSat is one of several secondary payloads hitching a ride on Artemis I, the first integrated flight of the agency’s SLS and the Orion spacecraft.

NEA Scout, a small spacecraft roughly the size of a large shoebox, has been packaged into a dispenser and attached to the adapter ring that connects the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. The Artemis I mission will be an uncrewed flight test. It also offers deep space transportation for several CubeSats, enabling opportunities for small spacecraft like NEA Scout to reach the Moon and beyond as part of the Artemis program.

Image above: NASA’s NEA Scout spacecraft in Gravity Off-load Fixture, System Test configuration at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Image Credit: NASA.

“NEA Scout will be America’s first interplanetary mission using solar sail propulsion,” said Les Johnson, principal technology investigator for the mission at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “There have been several sail tests in Earth orbit, and we are now ready to show we can use this new type of spacecraft propulsion to go new places and perform important science.”

The CubeSat will use stainless steel alloy booms to deploy an aluminum-coated plastic film sail – thinner than a human hair and about the size of a racquetball court. The large-area sail will generate thrust by reflecting sunlight. Energetic particles of sunlight, called photons, bounce off the solar sail to give it a gentle yet constant push. Over time, this constant thrust can accelerate the spacecraft to very high speeds, allowing it to navigate through space and catch up to its target asteroid.

“This type of propulsion is especially useful for small, lightweight spacecraft that cannot carry large amounts of conventional rocket propellant,” Johnson said.

NEA Scout is also a stepping-stone to another recently selected NASA solar sail mission, Solar Cruiser, which will use a sail 16 times larger when it flies in 2025.

Image above: Illustration of NASA’s NEA Scout with the solar sail deployed as it flies by its asteroid destination. Image Credit: NASA.

Sailing on sunlight, NEA Scout will begin an approximate two-year journey to fly by a near-Earth asteroid. Once it reaches its destination, the spacecraft will use a science-grade camera to capture images of the asteroid – down to less than half an inch (10 centimeters) per pixel – which scientists will then study to further our understanding of these small but important solar system neighbors. High-resolution imaging is made possible thanks to the low-velocity flyby (less than 100 feet, or 30 meters, per second) enabled by the solar sail.

The data obtained will help scientists understand a smaller class of asteroids – those measuring less than 100 meters (330 feet) across – that have never been explored by spacecraft.

“The images gathered by NEA Scout will provide critical information on the asteroid’s physical properties such as orbit, shape, volume, rotation, the dust and debris field surrounding it, plus its surface properties,” said Julie Castillo-Rogez, the mission’s principal science investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Near-Earth asteroids are also important destinations for exploration, in situ resource utilization, and scientific research. In the past decade, detections of near-Earth asteroids have steadily risen and are expected to grow, offering expanded opportunities as exploration destinations.

“Despite their size, some of these small asteroids could pose a threat to Earth,” Dr. Jim Stott, NEA Scout technology project manager, said. “Understanding their properties could help us develop strategies for reducing the potential damage caused in the event of an impact.”

Scientists will use this data to determine what is required to reduce risk, increase effectiveness, and improve the design and operations of robotic and human space exploration, added Castillo-Rogez.

NEA Scout is developed under NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems division. The CubeSat is designed and developed by NASA Marshall in Huntsville, Alabama, and JPL in Southern California.

Related links:

Artemis I: https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1

NEA Scout: https://www.nasa.gov/content/nea-scout

Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Molly Porter/JPL/Ian J. O'Neill.

Best regards, Orbiter.ch