Phootprint

Paper number

IAC-14,A3,3B,2,x24136

Author

Dr. Francesco Mura, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Italy

Coauthor

Mrs. Antonella Ferri, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Italy

Coauthor

Dr. Maria Antonietta Perino, Thales Alenia Space Italia, Italy

Coauthor

Mr. Pascal Rideau, Thales Alenia Space France, France

Coauthor

Mr. Rolando Gelmi, Selex ES, Italy

Coauthor

Mr. Francesco Cacciatore, Deimos Space S.L., Spain

Coauthor

Mr. Denis Rebuffat, ESA/ESTEC, The Netherlands

Coauthor

Mr. Jonan Larranaga, Aurora Technology B.V., The Netherlands

Year

2014

Abstract

Phootprint is a candidate mission of the Mars Robotic Exploration Preparation Programme (MREP). 
The current pre-phase A study is funded by the ESA General Study Programme (GSP).

The Phootprint mission will return a sample from the Mars moon Phobos. It will be launched by Ariane 5 into direct escape to Mars.
The nominal launch date to be considered is 2024, with 2026 as a backup.
The S/C Composite is made of:
\begin{itemize}\item A Propulsion Module (PM), in charge of performing all maneuvers from launcher separation to injection in near-Phobos orbit\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item A Landing Module (LM) carrying the Earth Return Vehicle (ERV), the Earth Re-entry Capsule (ERC), and all equipment necessary to perform the operations around and on Phobos, including landing and sampling; the near Phobos maneuvers will be performed by means of the Propulsion system implemented in the ERV\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item An Earth Return Vehicle (ERV) performing the Mars escape, the transfer back to Earth and the ERC release few hours before re-entry\end{itemize}
\begin{itemize}\item An Earth Re-entry Capsule (ERC); at Earth arrival the ERC will be released a few hours before re-entry and will perform a high speed re-entry. It will then perform a parachute-free, hard landing and be recovered and transported to the Sample Receiving Facility (SRF)\end{itemize}

The mission carries a payload complement in order to support the general characterization of Phobos and to support the selection and analysis of a safe and suitable sampling site. The obtained information is vitally important to place the collected sample material into a global context. 

This paper will present the results of the pre-phase A project performed by Thales Alenia Space Italia under European Space Agency contract; the study has been started in September 2013 and is planned to finish in May 2014.

Abstract document

IAC-14,A3,3B,2,x24136.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-14,A3,3B,2,x24136.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.