Session
Session IV: Instruments/Science I
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The European Space Agency’s planetary defense Hera mission will launch to the Didymos binary asteroid system in 2023 (with bodies nicknamed Didymain and Didymoon). Once in vicinity of the asteroid, two 6U CubeSats will be deployed to contribute to the asteroid research and mitigation assessment objectives of the Hera mission. This paperwill describe the Juventas CubeSat, equipped with a low frequency radar payload to characterize the internal structure of Didymoon. Juventas is designed to be operated using the Hera mothercraft as a proxy. This mission architecture creates a new paradigm for CubeSats, requiring high levels of mission autonomy while operating in the challenging environment of a small-body binary asteroid. Juventas will utilize the inter-satellite link to Hera for performing radio science experiments, augmenting the characterization of the asteroid gravity field. Once the radar science and radio science observation objectives have been met, Juventas will perform an attempted landing on the surface of Didymoon to research its dynamical properties.
The Juventas CubeSat in Support of ESA's Hera Mission to the Asteroid Didymos
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The European Space Agency’s planetary defense Hera mission will launch to the Didymos binary asteroid system in 2023 (with bodies nicknamed Didymain and Didymoon). Once in vicinity of the asteroid, two 6U CubeSats will be deployed to contribute to the asteroid research and mitigation assessment objectives of the Hera mission. This paperwill describe the Juventas CubeSat, equipped with a low frequency radar payload to characterize the internal structure of Didymoon. Juventas is designed to be operated using the Hera mothercraft as a proxy. This mission architecture creates a new paradigm for CubeSats, requiring high levels of mission autonomy while operating in the challenging environment of a small-body binary asteroid. Juventas will utilize the inter-satellite link to Hera for performing radio science experiments, augmenting the characterization of the asteroid gravity field. Once the radar science and radio science observation objectives have been met, Juventas will perform an attempted landing on the surface of Didymoon to research its dynamical properties.
