Don Quixote (probe)

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Don Quixote was a proposed unmanned space mission from ESA . It should serve as a trailblazer for possible missions, the aim of which would be to deflect the trajectory of an asteroid and other near-Earth objects . This concept study was not carried out. The name of the mission and its two space probes Sancho and Hidalgo is derived from Miguel de Cervantes ' novel Don Quixote .

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planning

The theoretical planning phase was completed in July 2005 by ESA's Concurrent Design Facility (CDF), so that industrial work on the project could begin in early 2006.

The Don Quixote concept study did not get beyond candidate status. The plans in 2005 envisaged a start for 2011 to 2017. Instead, ESA planned the Asteroid Impact Mission, a mission with a similar objective in cooperation with NASA , which also received no funding from the ESA Council of Ministers . The goal would have been the near-earth double asteroid Didymos .

Phase a

Three consortia were commissioned to carry out studies on Don Quixote in the first planning stage.

Thales Alenia Space

The French public company Thales Alenia Space forms the main part of this consortium, while the British QinetiQ and Canadian NGC Aerospace are the junior partners. Various organizations are involved as advisors, including the Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario (Italy), the Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino (Italy), the Observatoire de Paris (France), Università di Roma (Italy), the University of Michigan (USA) ) and the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur (France).

EADS Astrium

A subsidiary of EADS , EADS Astrium , leads this consortium, which also consists of the Spanish EADS CASA Espacio and Deimos Space . It is supported by the University of Pisa (Italy), the Fraunhofer Institute for Short-Term Dynamics (Ernst Mach Institute) (Germany), the German Aerospace Center , the British Open University and the Spaceguard Foundation .

QinetiQ

This alliance, which is purely British with two exceptions, is managed by QinetiQ. He is responsible for the Swedish space agency Swedish Space Corporation , the Belgian Verhaert Space , SciSys (Great Britain) and the Open University.

Target asteroids

From the five to six possible candidates, ESA took a closer look at AT4 and (10302) 1989 ML in 2002 .

Mission history

The mission is to consist of two different, independently launched space probes named Sancho and Hidalgo . After its start, Sancho is supposed to fly to the target asteroid and swivel into an orbit around it. During an observation phase lasting several months, various data about the asteroid are to be collected, including, among other things, the flight path, nature, shape, mass and intrinsic gravity of the asteroid with a high degree of precision. Then Hidalgo is to be launched, which is to take a different, more direct path to the asteroid. Sancho is supposed to observe the impact and until then also serve as a relay station for Hidalgo's data. The orbiter will also use the ejecta to determine the surface composition of the asteroid. At the same time it will again determine the exact position, direction, rotation, flight path and speed in order to determine a deviation caused by Hidalgo.

Then Sancho is supposed to drop the ASP-DeX lander. After ASP has been released from Sancho, the lander is supposed to land on the asteroid in free fall from a height of about 1 km at about 16 cm / s. Then he should move independently to his destination, in all probability the Hidalgo crater. There he should determine the surface properties and surface thermal conductivity.

Mission objectives

The primary objective of the mission is to strike a specific asteroid and determine the distraction caused by it. To achieve this goal, high-precision data on the position, trajectory, rotation, direction and speed of the asteroid before and after the impact are determined.

The secondary objective is to experiment ASP DeX ( English Autonomous Surface Package Deployment Engineering eXperiment for autonomous landing surface engineering experiment). In this experiment, a small robot, or ASP ( Autonomous Surface Package ), is to be decoupled from the orbiter Sancho and then to land on the asteroid in free fall under the asteroid's own gravity. Ideally, this should be done near the Hidalgo impact crater.

Probes

Hidalgo

The Hidalgo probe, known as the impactor spacecraft (after the Hidalgos ), is supposed to hit the target asteroid at a relative speed of 10 km / s and deflect it. At the same time, the autonomous aiming, steering and turning using high-resolution on-board cameras will be demonstrated. In order to achieve a significant change in orbit, in contrast to other missions, no maximum but a minimum mass must be given so that the asteroid is sufficiently deflected by the impact. In order to take this into account, contrary to common practice, the drive module is not pushed off after the desired speed has been reached, but remains coupled to the Hidalgo.

After taking off and reaching maximum speed, Hidalgo will go into a state of rest for the longest part of its flight. When approaching the target asteroids, the various on-board systems are reactivated.

Hidalgo should have the following properties:

  • high-resolution cameras and advanced computer systems that allow autonomous optical target acquisition to an accuracy of 50 m
  • no moving parts that could interfere with the position and path control system
  • no main engine is necessary as a quasi-ballistic trajectory is used. Minimal corrections are only made by control nozzles.
  • Reduce costs by using existing designs. For the framework of the probe, the science module of LISA Pathfinder was considered.

Overall, Hidalgo should move within the following framework:

  • Dry matter: 532 kg
  • Load: 9 kg
  • Fuel: 1162 kg
  • Total weight: 1694 kg

Sancho

For the orbiter Sancho (named after Sancho Pansa ), a modified version of the SMART-1 construction has been proposed for cost reasons in order to guarantee the higher energy requirements and the necessary communication options with the earth, Hidalgo and ASP. In addition, the mission duration, at seven years, is almost three times that of SMART-1. According to studies and extrapolations, however, this can be compensated for by using certain materials and shielding.

The dimensions of Sancho are:

  • Dry matter: 395 kg
  • Load: 20.6 kg
  • Fuel: 96 kg
  • Total weight: 491 kg

The technical equipment should at least consist of a radio science experiment, a laser- assisted altimeter based on the LIDAR principle, a camera, a data processor for the camera and LIDAR and a communication module (broadband / medium / narrowband antennas).

To achieve the mission's secondary objective, Sancho is to be equipped with an IR spectrometer, an infrared camera, an X-ray spectrometer and a radiation meter. The ASP-DeX is part of the payload and would carry additional instruments and devices with it, such as Mössbauer spectrometers, mass spectrometers, miniature cameras, heat sensors, acceleration / position sensors.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Don Quixote and the asteroid defense. ESA, October 12, 2005, accessed February 25, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Europe's future in space travel. In: ESA . December 13, 2016, accessed July 9, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Asteroid Impact Mission. ESA, February 26, 2016, accessed February 26, 2016 .