Search

The OKEANOS (Oversize Kite-craft for Exploration and AstroNautics in the Outer Solar system) is a mission under study to rendezvous with and land on a Jupiter Trojan asteroid [1]. It is primarily an engineering mission to demonstrate advanced technologies to explore the outer solar system with a small to medium sized spacecraft and limited cost, but also to conduct key science for understanding the origin and evolution of the solar system and life by performing in-depth scientific measurements. The concept is complementary to the Lucy mission [2], multi-flybys to six Jupiter Trojans, that was selected as a NASA Discovery class mission, aiming at understanding of variation and diversity of Jupiter Trojans. The OKEANOS is jointly studied between engineers and scientists both from Japan and Europe [3]. The OKEANOS is one of two candidates for the next medium class space science mission in Japan, waiting for the final selection. The scientific objectives, the latest science mission scenarios and the strawman payloads are described here.

The SPS-OKEANOS (Outsized Kitecraft for Exploration and AstroNautics in the Outer Solar system) is under study in Japan to rendezvous with and land on a Jupiter Trojan asteroid [1]. It is primarily an engineering mission to demonstrate advanced space technology but also to conduct key science for understanding the solar system origin and evolution by conducting indepth measurements there. The concept is complementary to LUCY [2], multi-flybys to six Jupiter Trojans, that was selected as a Discovery class mission, aiming at understanding the variation and diversity of Jupiter Trojans. The SPS-OKEANOS mission is jointly studied between engineers and scientists both from Japan and Europe [3]. The scientific objectives and the strawman payloads for this mission are described here

International audience

Jupiter Trojan asteroids are located around the Sun-Jupiter Lagrange points (L4 or L5), and most of them are classified as D- or P-type, considered as volatile rich materials with rocks, water ices, and organics. However, the origin and evolution, composi- tion and physical conditions of these bodies still remain unknown. Jupiter Trojans are the missing links of ma- terials that originates from inner and outer solar system, and they are also intermediate size to undergo aqueous and thermal alteration between primitive smaller and evolved larger bodies. They are the key targets to un- derstand the evolution process and the chemical radial distribution in the solar system. An engineering mission to a Jupiter Trojan asteroid is being studied in Japan using a hybrid propulsion system of a large area solar-power sail (SPS) and a sophisticated ion engine [1]. After arriving there, the asteroid will be investigated for scientific purpose and for landing site selection by remote sensing. A lander will be deployed to land on the asteroid surface and conduct in situ bservations. A Jupiter Trojan multi-flyby mission (LUCY) [2] has been selected as the next Discovery class mission, which aims at understanding the variation and diversity of Jupiter Trojans, contrary to the SPS mission which will rendezvous and land on the asteroid and conduct in-depth measurements. The SPS mission is jointly studied between engineers and scientists both from Japan and Europe [3]. We will present here the key scientific objectives and the strawman payloads for the SPS mission.

Following the successful PHILAE landing with ESA's ROSETTA probe and the launch of the MINERVA rovers and the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, MASCOT, aboard the JAXA space probe, HAYABUSA2, to asteroid (162173) Ryugu, small landers have found increasing interest. Integrated at the instrument level in their mothership they support small solar system body studies. With efficient capabilities, resource-friendly design and inherent robustness they are an attractive exploration mission element. We discuss advantages and constraints of small sub-spacecraft, focusing on emerging areas of activity such as asteroid diversity studies, planetary defence, and asteroid mining, on the background of our projects PHILAE, MASCOT, MASCOT2, the JAXA-DLR Solar Power Sail Lander Design Study, and others. The GOSSAMER-1 solar sail deployment concept also involves independent separable sub-spacecraft operating synchronized to deploy the sail. Small spacecraft require big changes in the way we do things and occasionally a little more effort than would be anticipated based on a traditional large spacecraft approach. In a Constraints-Driven Engineering environment we apply Concurrent Design and Engineering (CD/CE), Concurrent Assembly, Integration and Verification (CAIV) and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE). Near-term solar sails will likely be small spacecraft which we expect to harmonize well with nano-scale separable instrument payload packages.

A new mission to visit and explore a Jupiter Trojan asteroid is under study in Japan using a hybrid propulsion system of solar-powered sail (SPS) and sophisticated ion engine, and additionally using a scientific lander, which is jointly investigated between engineers and scientists from Japan and Europe [1]. We present here the key objectives and the strawman payloads of science experiments on the asteroid in this mission.

A major goal for NASA's human spaceflight program is to send astronauts to near-Earth asteroids (NEA) in the coming decades. Missions to NEAs would undoubtedly provide a great deal of technical and engineering data on spacecraft operations for future human space exploration while conducting in-depth scientific examinations of these primitive objects. However, before sending human explorers to NEAs, robotic investigations of these bodies would be required to maximize operational efficiency and reduce mission risk. These precursor missions to NEAs would fill crucial strategic knowledge gaps concerning their physical characteristics that are relevant for human exploration of these relatively unknown destinations. Dr. Paul Abell discussed some of the physical characteristics of NEOs that will be relevant for EVA considerations, reviewed the current data from previous NEA missions (e.g., Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker and Hayabusa), and discussed why future robotic and human missions to NEAs are important from space exploration and planetary defense perspectives.

第2回極域科学シンポジウム/第34回南極隕石シンポジウム 11月17日（木） 国立国語研究所 2階講堂

From Introduction:\ud \ud MARCO POLO is a joint European-Japanese sample return mission to a Near-Earth Object. In late 2007 this mission was selected by ESA, in the framework of COSMIC VISION 2015-2025, for an assessment scheduled to last until mid 2009.\ud \ud This Euro-Asian mission will go to a primitive Near-Earth Object (NEO), such as a C or D type asteroid. The spacecraft will rendezvous with the object, and over an extended period scientifically characterize it at multiple scales and bring samples back to Earth for detailed scientific investigation.