Feasibility of asteroid exploration using CubeSats-ASPECT case study

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is investing in a suite of core flight system technologies to enable CubeSats to conduct missions in deep space. These will be demonstrated on currently funded missions, such as INSPIRE, MarCO, and Lunar Flashlight, which will be among the first CubeSat missions to leave Earth's orbit and explore deep space, Mars, and the Moon, respectively. Other concepts may consider using these technologies to explore Venus, asteroids, Europa, Titan, and other areas of the solar system. These missions and concepts can be enabled by the development of miniaturized yet performant command and data handling, power, software, and communications systems specifically designed for deep space applications. JPL is pushing the state of the art in small subsystems to augment NASA's history of exploration. While the CubeSat/SmallSat component market has grown significantly to benefit LEO applications, only a few vendors are actively developing avionics and instrument interface electronics capable of meeting the stringent environmental, reliability, and performance requirements of deep space missions. These electronics and systems need to be specifically designed to handle harsh radiation and thermal environments as well as extended mission durations, where a CubeSat may begin its science observations after a multi-year cruise. Deep space missions also require additional technologies, such as radio transponders for interplanetary navigation. This paper first summarizes the systems-level developments of the enabling technologies of the JPL avionics bus, looking at maturing hardware and as well as future evolutions of technologies. Second, the paper discusses potential science instruments and applications that could be accommodated by these unique flight systems, either within a CubeSat or SmallSat form factor. Finally, the paper pairs technologies and instruments and showcases potential science missions enabled by this novel capability.

CubeSat flight system development for enabling deep space science

Water ice and other volatile compounds may be present on the Moon's surface within permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar poles. Understanding the composition, quantity, distribution, and form of water and other volatiles associated with lunar PSRs is identified as a Strategic Knowledge Gap (SKG) for NASA's human exploration program, projected to visit the lunar south pole in the next decade. These polar volatile deposits are also scientifically interesting, having potential to reveal important information about the delivery of water to the Earth-Moon system.

/pdf/lunar-flashlight-illuminating-the-lunar-south-pole-10bewibhxy.pdf

Lunar Flashlight: Illuminating the Lunar South Pole

The launch and successful operation of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) CubeSats in May of 2018 ushered in a new era of solar system exploration. The 13 interplanetary CubeSats slated to fly on Artemis 1 in 2020 along with MarCO represent the beginning of a new paradigm of planetary exploration—one that utilizes the CubeSat form factor as both primary and supporting exploration platforms. Enabling technologies required by interplanetary CubeSats including relatively high Δv propulsion systems, capable high-frequency transponders, radiation-tolerant components, and extremely capable miniaturized science instruments are now becoming commercially available making these missions possible. Interplanetary CubeSats require different and more sophisticated spacecraft systems architectures and must utilize different and more sophisticated ground station systems than LEO missions. These differences are discussed in this chapter in detail, using specific examples from current and planned missions.

Interplanetary CubeSat missions

DISCUS - The Deep Interior Scanning CubeSat mission to a rubble pile near-Earth asteroid

P. E. Clark, Ben Malphrus, Kevin Brown, Dennis Reuter, Robert MacDowall, David Folta, Avi Mandell, Terry Hurford, Cliff Brambora, Deepak Patel, Stuart Banks, William Farrell, Noah Petro, Michael Tsay, V. Hruby, Carl Brandon, Peter Chapin, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (pamela.e.clark@jpl.nasa.gov), Morehead State University, NASA/GSFC, Busek, Vermont Technical College.

Lunar Ice Cube Mission: Determining Lunar Water Dynamics with a First Generation Deep Space CubeSat

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Lunar Ice Cube Mission: Determining Lunar Water Dynamics with a First Generation Deep Space CubeSat