NASA NTRS · 20060035667
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Tan-Wang, G. H., Sims, J.. 1998-02-09. Deep Space 4/ Champollion. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20060035667
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Summary of Activities-Developed the Comet Hitchhiker concept, which is to hitch rides on small bodies (asteroids and comets) using a tethered spacecraft. (Section 2)-Identified five scientifically important missions that would be enabled or significantly benefited by the Comet Hitchhiker concept.The five mission concepts are: KBO rendezvous, Centaur rendezvous, Trojan rendezvous, Damocloid rendezvous, and Main asteroid belt tour to rendezvous with multiple (10) objects. (Section 3)-Derived the Space Hitchhike Equation, or "the rocket equation for hitchhiker", which relates the specific strength of tether, mass ratio, and V. (Section 4.1)-Performed in-depth feasibility analysis of the critical components of the concept through: Finite-element simulations of tether and spacecraft dynamics, as shown in Figure 1 (Section 4.4); Supercomputer simulations of the hypervelocity impact of harpoon on a small body, as shown in Figure 2. (Section 6)-Performed public outreach activities including the collaboration with a concept artist of the Museum of Science Fiction, exposure to media, and public presentations. (Section 8)
The First Flight of NASA's Space Launch System will feature 13 CubeSats that will launch into cis-lunar space. Three of these CubeSats are winners of the CubeQuest Challenge, part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Centennial Challenge Program. In order to qualify for launch on EM-1, the winning teams needed to win a series of Ground Tournaments, periodically held since 2015. The final Ground Tournament, GT-4, was held in May 2017, and resulted in the Top 3 selection for the EM-1 launch opportunity. The Challenge now proceeds to the in-space Derbies, where teams must build and test their spacecraft before launch on EM-1. Once in space, they will compete for a variety of Communications and Propulsion-based challenges. This is the first Centennial Challenge to compete in space and is a springboard for future in-space Challenges. In addition, the technologies gained from this challenge will also propel development of deep space CubeSats.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is NASA's lead center for robotic exploration of our solar system. We are known for our large, flagship missions, such as Voyager, which gave humanity its first close look at Jupiter and Saturn; and the Mars Rovers, which have excited millions worldwide with their daring landing exploits. Less familiar to those outside NASA may be our role in developing the Kepler mission, which has discovered more than 2000 planets around other stars; or the recently launched Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, one of many JPL Earth Science missions. A recent JPL initiative has emphasized low cost missions that use rapidly evolving technology developed for CubeSats and NanoSat s to explore our solar system. Costs are significantly lower (by one or two orders of magnitude) than for conventional JPL missions, and development time is also significantly shorter. At present 21 such CubeSat flight projects are under way at the laboratory with various partners : some in flight, some in development, some in advanced formulation. Four are planned as deep space missions. To succeed in exploring deep space CubeSat/NanoSat missions have to address several challenges: the more severe radiation environment, communications and navigation at a distance, propulsion, and packaging of instruments that can return valuable science into a compact volume/mass envelope. Instrument technologies, including cameras, magnetometers, spectrometers, radiometers, and even radars are undergoing miniaturization to fit on these smaller platforms. Other key technologies are being matured for smallsats and NanoSats in deep space, including micro -electric propulsion, compact radio (and optical) communications, and onboard data reduction. This paper will describe missions that utilize these developments including the first two deep space CubeSats (INSPIRE), planned for launch in 2017; the first pair of CubeSats to be sent to another planet (MARCO), manifested with the InSight Mars lander launch in March of 2016; a helicopter "drone" on Mars to extend the reach of future rovers; plans for a Lunar Flashlight mission to shine a light on the permanently shadowed craters of the Moon's poles; a Near Earth Asteroid CubeSat missio n; and a CubeSat constellation to demonstrate time series measurements of storm systems on Earth. From these beginnings, the potential for CubeSats and NanoSats to add to our knowledge of the solar system could easily grow exponentially. Imagine if every deep space mission carried one or more CubeSats that could operate independently (even for a brief period) on arrival at their target body. At only incremental additional cost, such spacecraft could go closer, probe deeper, and provide science measurements that we would not risk with the host spacecraft. This paper will describe examples including a NanoSat to probe the composition of Venus' atmosphere, impactors and close flybys of Europa, lunar probes, and soft landers for the moons of Mars. Low cost access to deep space also offers the potential for independent CubeSat/NanoSat missions - allowing us to characterize the population of near Earth asteroids for example, deploy a constellation around Venus, or take closer looks at the asteroid belt.