The VESTA project: Combined studies of Mars and small bodies of the solar system

A mission to Mars and small solar system bodies is presently studied as a possible collaboration between INTERCOSMOS, CNES, ESA and eventually other participants. The VESTA concept, based on the same strategy as the successful VEGA mission, is more ambitious, as two spacecrafts separate soon after launch: a soviet spacecraft, dedicated to the study of Mars, and a spacecraft dedicated to the study of small bodies, under the responsibility of CNES and ESA. This spacecraft would use Mars gravity assists to visit up to 4 small bodies in less than 5 years. The mission is duplicated, which means that up to 8 small bodies could be studied (e.g. 6 main belt asteroids, 1 apollo-amor asteroid and 1 short period comet). Low relative velocities (< 3.5 km/s) should allow to drop a penetrator on two large main belt asteroids, such as 4 Vesta and 1 Ceres (1994 launch).     

The ESA SMART-1 mission to the Moon with solar electric propulsion

SMART-1 is planned to be the first Small Mission for Advanced Research in Technology of the ESA Scientific Programme Horizons 2000 for a launch at the end of 2001. The mission is dedicated to the testing of new technologies for preparing future cornerstone missions, using Solar Electrical Propulsion in Deep Space. The mission operational lifetime includes a 6–17 months cruise until a lunar orbit (300–10000 km) with 6 month operations. The SMART-1 spacecraft will be launched either on Ariane 5 as auxiliary passenger or on Eurockot. The expected launch mass is 350 kg. This allows to bring a dedicated payload with spacecraft, instrument and electric propulsion diagnostics technologies, as well as giving an opportunity for new lunar geophysical and geochemical studies, and for cruise science on the way to the Moon.     

FIRST — Far Infrared and Submillimetre Space Telescope

The present status of the ESA cornerstone mission FIRST is presented. A recent industrial study has generated a spacecraft concept employing a 4.5 m passively cooled telescope with focal plane instrument cooling provided by a superfluid helium cryostat. The model payload complement includes two direct detection instruments as well as two heterodyne instruments. After a shared launch by Ariane 5 into GTO, FIRST propels itself into the 24-hour highly eccentric operational orbit, where observations can be conducted up to 17 hours per day with an expected approximate mission duration of 3 years. An additional complementary study of a non-cryostat spacecraft option will also be performed.     

Metrology on-board PROBA-3: The shadow position sensors subsystem

PROBA-3 is an ESA mission aimed at the demonstration of formation flying performance of two satellites that will form a giant coronagraph in space. The first spacecraft will host a telescope imaging the solar corona in visible light, while the second, the external occulter, will produce an artificial eclipse. This instrument is named ASPIICS (Association of Spacecraft for Polarimetric and Imaging Investigation of the Corona of the Sun). To accomplish the payload's scientific tasks, PROBA-3 will ensure sub-millimeter reciprocal positioning of its two satellites using closed-loop on-board metrology. Several metrology systems will be used and the Shadow Position Sensor (SPS) subsystem senses the penumbra around the instrument aperture and returns the 3-D displacement of the coronagraph satellite, with respect to its nominal position, by running a dedicated algorithm. In this paper, we describe how the SPS works and the choices made to accomplish the mission objectives.     

Modified gradiometer technique applied to Double Star (TC-1)

On TC-1 (Tan Ce 1), the equatorial spacecraft of the Double Star mission, a strong spin-synchronized magnetic interference from the solar panels was observed. In-flight correction techniques for spinning spacecraft that are based on minimizing spin tones in the spin-aligned component and in the magnitude of the ambient magnetic field are therefore not possible in this case. However, due to the fortunate situation that the spacecraft carries two flux-gate magnetometers on the same boom (at 0.5 m distance from each other), the spacecraft field effects could be removed from the spin-averaged data to achieve 0.2 nT relative accuracy, by using a gradiometer technique. Methodology and results are presented. The obtained accuracy allows the use of the data in multi-spacecraft studies together with the Cluster satellites.     

Gamma-ray burst localization with the international solar polar mission

The European Space Agency's Solar Polar spacecraft is scheduled for launch in 1986. A solar X-ray and cosmic gamma ray burst detector will be aboard. Although the solar polar mission will not provide the long baselines originally planned, due to the cancellation of the NASA spacecraft, it is shown that arrival time analysis between the remaining ESA spacecraft and other missions will nevertheless achieve extremely precise localizations.     

A Brief Introduction and Recent Progress of the Geospace Double Star Program

The Geospace Double Star Project (DSP) consists of two small satellites operating in the near-earth equatorial and polar regions, respectively. The goals of DSP are: (1) to provide high-resolution field, particle, and wave measurements in some important near-earth active regions which have not been covered by current ISTP missions, such as the near-earth plasma sheet and its boundary layer, the ring current, the radiation belts, the dayside magnetopause boundary layer, and the polar region; (2) to investigate the trigger mechanisms of magnetic storms, magnetospheric substorms, and magnetospheric particle events,as well as the responses of geospace storms to solar activities and interplanetary disturbances; (3) to set up the models describing the spatial and temporal variations of the near-earth space environment.To realize the above goals, the equatorial satellite TC-1 and the polar satellite TC-2 will accommodate, respectively, eight instruments on board. TC-1was launched successfully in December 2003 while the polar satellite (TC-2)will be launched in July 2004. The orbit of the equatorial satellite TC-1 consists of a perigee at 550 km, an apogee at 60 000 km, and an inclination of about 28.5; while the orbit of the polar satellite will have a perigee of 700 km, an apogee of 40 000 km, and an inclination of about 90. The two satellites will take coordinated measurements with Cluster Ⅱ and will first form a "six-point exploration" in geospace.The operational status of TC-1 are introduced in this paper.     

Return to Europa: Overview of the Jupiter Europa orbiter mission

Missions to explore Europa have been imagined ever since the Voyager mission first suggested that Europa was geologically very young. Subsequently, the Galileo spacecraft supplied fascinating new insights into this satellite of Jupiter. Now, an international team is proposing a return to the Jupiter system and Europa with the Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM). Currently, NASA and ESA are designing two orbiters that would explore the Jovian system and then each would settle into orbit around one of Jupiter’s icy satellites, Europa and Ganymede. In addition, the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA) is considering a Jupiter magnetospheric orbiter and the Russian Space Agency is investigating a Europa lander.     

Giotto extended mission

The navigation of the ESA spacecraft Giotto to its encounter with comet P/Halley on 14 March 1986 required just 10% of the fuel available. Although the spacecraft was damaged by dust impacts during its close flyby at the nucleus of P/Halley it was retargeted to return close to Earth to maintain the option to extend the mission to encounter another comet, P/Grigg-Skjellerup on 10 July 1992.

On 2 April 1986 the spacecraft was put into hibernation configuration and had been orbiting the Sun in the ecliptic with an orbital period of 10 months. On 19 February 1990 it was reactivated, spacecraft subsystems and the payload checked out to determine its health status.

On 2 July 1990 Giotto performed succesfully the first-ever Earth gravity assist manoeuvre of a spacecraft approaching the Earth from deep space and was retargeted for comet P/Grigg--Skjellerup. It was concluded that the spacecraft is ready to provide valuable data during a potential encounter with a second comet.     

The plasma sheet and boundary layers under northward IMF: A multi-point and multi-instrument perspective

During conditions of northward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the near-tail plasma sheet is known to become denser and cooler, and is described as the cold-dense plasma sheet (CDPS). While its source is likely the solar wind, the prominent penetration mechanisms are less clear. The two main candidates are solar wind direct capture via double high-latitude reconnection on the dayside and Kelvin–Helmholtz/diffusive processes at the flank magnetopause. This paper presents a case study on the formation of the CDPS utilizing a wide variety of space- and ground-based observations, but primarily from the Double Star and Polar spacecraft on December 5th, 2004. The pertinent observations can be summarized as follows: TC-1 observes quasi-periodic (∼2 min period) cold-dense boundary layer (compared to a hot-tenuous plasma sheet) signatures interspersed with magnetosheath plasma at the dusk flank magnetopause near the dawn-dusk terminator. Analysis of this region suggests the boundary to be Kelvin–Helmholtz unstable and that plasma transport is ongoing across the boundary. At the same time, IMAGE spacecraft and ground based SuperDARN measurements provide evidence of high-latitude reconnection in both hemispheres. The Polar spacecraft, located in the southern hemisphere afternoon sector, sunward of TC-1, observes a persistent boundary layer with no obvious signature of boundary waves. The plasma is of a similar appearance to that observed by TC-1 inside the boundary layer further down the dusk flank, and by TC-2 in the near-Earth magnetotail. We present comparisons of electron phase space distributions between the spacecraft. Although the dayside boundary layer at Polar is most likely formed via double high-altitude reconnection, and is somewhat comparable to the flank boundary layer at Double Star, some differences argue in favour of additional transport that augment solar wind plasma entry into the tail regions.     

深空测控网干涉测量系统在“鹊桥”任务中的应用分析

在"嫦娥4号"任务的第一阶段—"鹊桥"阶段,北京航天飞行控制中心利用佳木斯及喀什深空站对"鹊桥"进行了干涉测量观测,获取了实时与事后的高精度测角观测量,有效支持了任务的实施。两深空站需同时完成测控任务,无法交替射电源观测来进行系统差标校,基于此系统采用了长时间隔、在航天器观测前及双站结束后观测射电源的标校方法,在地月转移段、月球至L2转移段、Halo轨道形成段开展了多次干涉测量观测,所获得的时延、时延率结果直接应用于事后联合轨道确定,结果表明:深空网的时延观测精度约为3 ns。     

Update on the ESA-CAS Joint Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) Mission

The SMILE (Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer) mission aims at deepening our understanding of the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth magnetosphere. It is the first time that ESA and CAS jointly select, design, implement, launch, and operate a space mission. The mission was adopted by CAS in November 2016 and by ESA in March 2019 with a target launch date by the end of 2023.      

Results from the ESA SREM monitors and comparison with existing radiation belt models

The Standard Radiation Environment Monitor (SREM) is a simple particle detector developed for wide application on ESA satellites. It measures high-energy protons and electrons of the space environment with a 20° angular resolution and limited spectral information. Of the ten SREMs that have been manufactured, four have so far flown. The first model on STRV-1c functioned well until an early spacecraft failure. The other three are on-board, the ESA spacecraft INTEGRAL, ROSETTA and PROBA-1. Another model is flying on GIOVE-B, launched in April 2008 with three L-2 science missions to follow: both Herschel and Planck in 2008, and GAIA in 2011). The diverse orbits of these spacecraft and the common calibration of the monitors provides a unique dataset covering a wide range of B-L* space, providing a direct comparison of the radiation levels in the belts at different locations, and the effects of geomagnetic shielding. Data from the PROBA/SREM and INTEGRAL/IREM are compared with existing radiation belt models.     

磁尾爆发性整体流和地磁Pi2脉动关系研究

利用Cluster,TC-1以及中国和欧洲在中低纬六个地面台站的数据,分析了2004年10月22日1700-1930 UT发生的三次BBF事件过程中地面和近地空间磁场脉动的特性.这三次BBF事件都发生在地磁活动的平静时期.结果发现,有两次平静时期的BBF确实对应着阻尼型Pi2脉动,并且脉动的特征与以前观测结果中的特征类似.在第一次BBF事件中,空间观测和地面观测均发现了Pi2脉动;在第二次事件中,地面观测到了Pi2脉动,而空间没有观测到Pi2脉动;在第三次事件中,空间和地面观测都没有发现Pi2脉动.这些观测事实说明BBF所激发的Pi2脉动特征是相当复杂的,而且并不是所有BBF都能产生Pi2脉动,所以到底BBF在什么条件下可以产生Pi2仍然是一个没有解决的问题.      

Development of in-situ Space Debris Detector

Due to high relative velocities, collisions of spacecraft in orbit with Space Debris (SD) or Micrometeoroids (MM) can lead to payload degradation, anomalies as well as failures in spacecraft operation, or even loss of mission. Flux models and impact risk assessment tools, such as MASTER (Meteoroid and Space Debris Terrestrial Environment Reference) or ORDEM (Orbital Debris Engineering Model), and ESABASE2 or BUMPER II are used to analyse mission risk associated with these hazards. Validation of flux models is based on measured data. Currently, as most of the SD and MM objects are too small (millimeter down to micron sized) for ground-based observations (e.g. radar, optical), the only available data for model validation is based upon retrieved hardware investigations e.g. Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), Hubble Space Telescope (HST), European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA). Since existing data sets are insufficient, further in-situ experimental investigation of the SD and MM populations are required. This paper provides an overview and assessment of existing and planned SD and MM impact detectors. The detection area of the described detectors is too small to adequately provide the missing data sets. Therefore an innovative detection concept is proposed that utilises existing spacecraft components for detection purposes. In general, solar panels of a spacecraft provide a large area that can be utilised for in-situ impact detection. By using this method on several spacecraft in different orbits the detection area can be increased significantly and allow the detection of SD and MM objects with diameters as low as 100 μm. The design of the detector is based on damage equations from HST and EURECA solar panels. An extensive investigation of those panels was performed by ESA and is summarized within this paper. Furthermore, an estimate of the expected sensitivity of the patented detector concept as well as examples for its implementation into large and small spacecraft are presented.     

A multiple-rendezvous,sample-return mission to two near-Earth asteroids

We propose a dual-rendezvous mission, targeting near-Earth asteroids, including sample-return. The mission, Asteroid Sampling Mission (ASM), consists of two parts: (i) flyby and remote sensing of a Q-type asteroid, and (ii) sampling of a V-type asteroid. The targeted undifferentiated Q-type are found mainly in the near-Earth space, and to this date have not been the target of a space mission. We have chosen, for our sampling target, an asteroid from the basaltic class (V-type), as asteroids in this class exhibit spectral signatures that resemble those of the well-studied Howardite–Eucrite–Diogenite (HED) meteorite suite. With this mission, we expect to answer specific questions about the links between differentiated meteorites and asteroids, as well as gain further insight into the broader issues of early Solar System (SS) evolution and the formation of terrestrial planets. To achieve the mission, we designed a spacecraft with a dry mass of less than 3 tonnes that uses electric propulsion with a solar-electric power supply of 15 kW at 1 Astronomical Unit (AU). The mission includes a series of remote sensing instruments, envisages landing of the whole spacecraft on the sampling target, and employs an innovative sampling mechanism. Launch is foreseen to occur in 2018, as the designed timetable, and the mission would last about 10 years, bringing back a 150 g subsurface sample within a small re-entry capsule. This paper is a work presented at the 2008 Summer School Alpbach,“Sample return from the Moon, asteroids and comets” organized by the Aeronautics and Space Agency of the Austrian Research Promotion Agency. It is co-sponsored by ESA and the national space authorities of its Member and Co-operating States, with the support of the International Space Science Institute and Austrospace.     

A few metrological aspects of the Gaia mission

The ESA space astrometry mission Gaia is designed to measure the positions, parallaxes and proper motions of more than one billion stars of our Galaxy brighter than 20 magnitude. The expected astrometric accuracies are in the range 7–25 μas for the point-like sources down to 15 mag. To achieve this staggering performance, several issues of highly accurate metrology must be solved and implemented on the spacecraft. In this paper, I discuss first some constraining principles to perform global astrometry in space, and then a couple of examples of the metrological issues currently faced by the design or to be encountered during the operations. One concerns the optimisation of the sky coverage with a scanning instrument like Gaia, and the other deals with the instrument stability and how the stringent requirements are met in practice.     

Magnetospheric Physics in China During the Period of 2004 - 2006

Their brief report presents the advances of the magnetospheric physics researches in China during the period of 2004-2006. During the past two years, China-ESA cooperation DSP (Double Star Program) satellites were successively launched. In addition, China also participated in the scientific research of ESA's Cluster mission. The DSP and Cluster missions provide Chinese space physicists high quality data to study multiscale physical process in the magnetosphere. The work made based on the data of DSP is presented in the paper of "Progress of Double Star Program" of this issue.     

Challenges of the rosetta sample return mission

Rosetta is a correrstone mission of the science programme of the European Space Agency (ESA) and it has been studied as a collaborative project with NASA. The major scientific objectives of Rosetta is to return cometary samples to Earth. About 20 kg of cometary material from up to 3m below the surface would be made available to the scientific community for analysis. Since relatively little is known a priory about the environment to be expected, the mission design must be based on a limited body of knowledge and rely on autonomy. The paper outlines the main mission characteristics and the experimental approach to demonstrate the mission feasibility.     

2004年3月13日TC-1和Cluster卫星联合观测的磁通量传输事件

分析了2004年3月13日12:15到12:25UT期间TC-1和Cluster卫星簇的磁通门磁力计(FGM)和电子/电流试验仪(PEACE)的联合观测数据.在此期间,TC-1卫星位于日下点以南的磁层顶附近的磁鞘中,并在12:19UT左右观测到了一个典型的先正后负的磁鞘磁通量传输事件(FTE);而Cluster卫星簇位于北半球日侧高纬磁层项附近,并于12:23UT左右穿出磁层顶进入磁鞘,且在12:21 UT左右也观测到了一个典型的先正后负的磁层FTE.比较分析发现此两个FTE具有类似的磁场结构和等离子体特征,可能是同一个北向运动的FTE先后被TC-1和Cluster卫星观测到.利用Cluster 4颗卫星的多点同时观测数据,采用最小方向微分法和时空微分方法,推断Cluster卫星观测的这个FTE是尺度大小约为1.21Re的准二维结构,其运动方向为东北方向,与Cooling模型预测方向基本一致.利用Cooling模型的预测,推算了TC-1卫星在12:19UT观测的FTE的运动速度和尺度,进而得出随着通量管的极向运动,其速度和尺度均有所增加.