Some of the planetary missions using microspacecraft of mass on the order of 10 kg which are presently being considered at JPL are discussed. The primary benefits offered by this type of spacecraft is the small and relatively inexpensive launch vehicles and short program development schedules. A mission presently considered by the Asteroid Investigation with Microspacecraft (AIM) study is described with special attention given to the spacecraft configuration; the AIM mission will launch three spacecraft from a single Pegasus vehicle, achieving separate flybys for three near-earth asteroids. Attention is also given to the salient features of the Mars Rover Sample Return mission, the Venus Atmospheric Sounder, and the Comet Nucleus Mission, for which the application of microspacecraft technology is considered.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Planetary missions using microspacecraft technology


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1992-08-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English





    Microspacecraft missions and systems

    Jones, Ross M. | NTRS | 1989


    Enabling technologies for microspacecraft missions

    Chun, Wendell / Gillespie, Timothy / Gamber, Terry | AIAA | 1999


    Power, Propulsion and Communications for Microspacecraft Missions

    de Groot, W. A. / Maloney, T. M. / Vanderaar, M. J. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1999