The Jovian Minisat Explorer: The challenge of studying Europa
- Paper number
IAC-05-A3.2.A.05
- Author
Mr. Alessandro Atzei, European Space Agency (ESA)/ESTEC, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. Peter Falkner, European Space Agency (ESA)/ESTEC, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. Anthony Peacock, European Space Agency (ESA)/ESTEC, The Netherlands
- Year
2005
- Abstract
ESA's Science Payload and Advanced Concepts Office has started a combination of activities that go by the name "Technology Reference Studies" or TRSs. The goal of the TRS's is to identify and possibly develop critical technologies that will be required for future scientific missions. This is done through the study of several challenging and scientifically relevant missions, which are not part of the ESA science programme, and focus on the medium term enabling technology requirements. The Jovian Minisat Explorer (JME) TRS concerns the exploration of the Jovian system, and especially Europa, the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter. This moon has been selected, as it is one of the few places where liquid water may be found in the solar system, making it one of the prime candidates for the search for life outside Earth. As a result of a study, performed with EADS Astrium and other partners, a scenario has been identified that foresees two relatively small Jovian spacecraft (~600/400 kg dry mass): one will act as a relay spacecraft (Jupiter Relay spacecraft (JRS)) in a highly elliptical orbit around Jupiter, outside the high radiation zones, while the other (Jupiter Europa Orbiter (JEO)) will orbit Europa in an extreme radiation environment. The relay spacecraft will carry all subsystems not directly required for the Europa observation mission, as it will be subjected to less radiation than the Europa orbiter. It will carry the communication system providing the link between Earth and the JEO, data processing and data storage units as well as a small, highly integrated scientific payload suite dedicated to the study of the Jovian system. The Europa orbiter will include a highly integrated remote sensing payload suite and a communication system for communications with the JRS and a limited link to Earth. The feasibility of a compact microprobe to perform in-situ measurement of the ice crust has also been assessed. The identified technological challenges include 1 Mrad radiation hardened components, solar cells compatible with the extreme radiation environment as well as the low intensity and temperature. Should the solar cells prove to be unfeasible, alternative power sources such as RTGs will have to be considered. As a result, the implication of this alternative power source is currently being investigated. Other challenges are encountered in the fields of low resource subsystems, including payloads and telecommunications, autonomy, AOCS, planetary protection and high speed impact for penetrator probes. The study has provided a feasible mission profile for a low resource study of Europa and the Jovian system, provided that the identified technology developments can be achieved. The two spacecraft configuration could also be used for further exploration of the Jovian system: currently the study of Jupiter's magnetosphere and atmosphere are being considered, using a similar configuration, to increase commonality with the objective of reducing cost. These objects are potential candidates for future TRSs.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-05-A3.2.A.05.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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