Task Force Report: Annex D
 

SPACE-BASED
              MISSIONS

 
   
D-1: Flyby or rendezvous with asteroid or comet
Mission Objective
(1=primary, etc.)		 Encounters and website
ICE
International Cometary Explorer NASA launched 1978		 previously called International Sun Earth Explorer, ISEE-3.
1. science of Sun;
2. to pass through tail of a comet and measure its plasma and magnetic features		 comet Giacobini-Zinner: pass through tail, 1985
comet Halley: distant flyby, March 1986
stardust.jpl.nasa
.gov/comets/ice.html
VEGA-1 and 2
Russian Space Agency launched 1984		 1. probe surface of Venus;
2. fly both spacecraft near comet Halley and return images		 comet Halley: close approaches by Vega 1 and Vega 2, March 1986
www.iki.rssi.ru/pe.html
GIOTTO
ESA launched 1985		 1. study Halley’s comet by remote imaging and analysing dust in coma. Closest approach less than 600 kilometres;
2. flyby comet Grigg-Skjellerup		 comet Halley: close approach, March 1986.
comet Grigg-Skjellerup: close approach 1992
sci.esa.int/hom
e/giotto/index.cfm
SAKIGAKE and SUISEI
(2 missions) ISAS, Japan launched 1985		 1. engineering tests
2. fly by comet Halley to observe interactions with solar wind
www.isas.ac.jp/e/ent
erp/missions/index.html
GALILEO
NASA launched 1989		 1. rendezvous with Jupiter and its moons,1995;
2. fly by two asteroids		 asteroid Gaspra: flyby,1991;
asteroid Ida: flyby, 1993;
observed Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9’s impacts on Jupiter, 1994
www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo
Clementine
launched 1994		 1. map Moon;
2. visit Earth-crossing asteroid 1620 Geographos (but booster failed).
[Clementine 2 planned but on hold]		 mapped Moon 1994
www.flag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/
Space/clementine/clementine.html
NEAR
(Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous) NASA launched 1996		 1. rendezvous with asteroid Eros; determine physical and geological properties, and measure elemental and mineralogical composition asteroid Mathilde: flyby, 1997;
asteroid Eros: fly by, early 1999;
asteroid Eros: rendezvous, Feb 2000
near.jhuapl.edu
DEEP SPACE 1
NASA launched 1998		 1. demonstrate new technologies;
2. determine physical properties and measure elemental, mineralogical composition of asteroid Braille;
3. Extended mission to fly by a comets		 asteroid Braille: flyby July 28 1999
Comet Borelly: flyby September 23 2001
nmp.jpl.nasa.gov/ds1
STARDUST
NASA launched Feb 1999		 1. fly probe to within 100 kilometre of comet Wild-2’s nucleus; June 2004;
2. interstellar dust collection en route (2000 and 2002); nucleus imaging, compositional analysis of particulates, capture dust particles from coma and return for analysis		 comet Wild-2: encounter, 2004;
Sample return, 2006
stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
NEAP
(Near-Earth Asteroid Prospector) SpaceDev corporation
Possible launch 2001		 1. asteroid Nereus;
2. first non-governmental deep space mission		 asteroid Nereus
www.spacedev.com/
MUSES-C
(Mu Space Engineering Spacecraft C) ISAS, Japan for launch 2002		 1. rendezvous with the potentially hazardous asteroid 1998 SF36; deliver nano-rover to surface for in-situ imaging, collect samples of asteroid; return to Earth for analysis asteroid 1998 SF36: rendezvous, 2005
www.muses-c.isas.ac.jp
www.isas.ac.jp/e/ent
erp/missions/index.html
CONTOUR
(Comet Nucleus Tour) NASA for launch 2002		 1. images and comparative spectral maps of at least three comet nuclei; analyse collected dust samples comet 2P/Encke: flyby 2003;
comet Schwassmann-Wachmann-3: flyby 2006;
comet d’Arrest: flyby 2008
www.contour2002.org
ROSETTA
ESA for launch 2003		 1. rendezvous with comet Wirtanen; 11 months of near comet operations; deliver surface science package to perform in-situ analysis;
2. visit two asteroids on the 8 year journey		 asteroid Otawara: flyby, 2006;
asteroid Siwa: flyby, 2008;
comet 46 P/Wirtanen: rendezvous, 2011
sci.esa.int/home
/rosetta/index.cfm
DEEP IMPACT
NASA for launch 2004		 1. internal structure of a comet; impact comet with 500 kg copper projectile; observe debris with spacecraft camera and spectrometer (and from Earth) Comet 9P/Tempel 1: collision encounter, 2005
www.ss.astro.u
md.edu/deepimpact
PLUTO-KUIPER EXPRESS
NASA for launch 2004? (Outer Planets Project)		 1a. study Pluto and its moon, Charon;
1b. radio science experiment; solar occultation spectrometer and various imagers;
2. one or more Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt object flyby		 Pluto encounter: 2012 to 2020; then through Edgeworth- Kuiper belt of comets
www.jpl.nasa.gov/ice_fire
Bepi-Colombo
ESA planned for launch in or after 2009		 1. study planet Mercury;
2. possible NEO search en-route with imaging cameras
sci.esa.int/home/b
epicolombo/index.cfm
DEEP SPACE 4
NASA (to be confirmed)		 1a. test 20 new technologies;
1b. land on nucleus of active comet; possible sample return		  


D-2: Other telescopes mentioned in report
Mission Objective
(1=primary, etc.)		 Encounters and website
HST
Hubble Space Telescope NASA/ESA launched 1990		 space telescope (aperture 2.4 metres); optical and ultra violet wavelengths
www.stsci.edu
SOHO
ESA/NASA launched 1995		 1. study Sun’s internal structure (keeping in orbit 1.5 million kilometres sun-ward of Earth for uninterrupted view of Sun), various imagers
2. inadvertently detects many comets		 > 100 comets discovered, mostly Sun-grazers
sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov
SIRTF
Space based Infrared Telescope Facility NASA for launch 2001		 1. infra-red space telescope (aperture 0.85 metres)
May detect many asteroids based on experience from previous missions
sirtf.jpl.nasa.gov
SWIFT
NASA for launch 2003		 1. study gamma-ray bursts; burst -alert telescope; X-ray telescope; ultraviolet/optical telescope asteroids will be detected as ‘noise’ to the primary data
swift.sonoma.edu
NGST
Next Generation Space Telescope NASA, ESA, Canada proposed launch 2007		 large space telescope (aperture ~8 metres) (primarily infrared)
proposals being studied
www.ngst.stsci.edu
GAIA
ESA planned for launch in or after 2009		 1. measure positions of distant stars (1 metre class telescopes);
2. predicted also to discover NEOs down to about 500 metres.
sci.esa.int/home/gaia/index.cfm
 
  Contents

Annex A, Annex B, Annex C, Annex D, Annex E, Annex F		    

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