HP3: An Integrated instrument suite to explore the Subsurface of terrestrial planets and moons
- Paper number
IAC-05-A3.P.16
- Author
Mr. Riccardo Nadalini, Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany
- Year
2005
- Abstract
Almost all the planets and many of the major moons in the solar system have surfaces covered by a regolith layer, storing in its physical properties a record of the processes that have taken place during and after its deposition. The study of these properties below the immediate surface allows a glimpse in the bodies’ past for periods of up to billions of years. Unfortunately, access to depths up to a few meters still remains to be accomplished, since of the many planetary missions flown and planned, just a very few propose a landing, with only minor investigations of the subsurface (i.e. Rosetta). In the last decade a new class of tools to explore the regolith in depth has been developed: the Moles (i.e. PLUTO, the sampling system on board Beagle 2). With funding from ESA, and with the aim of building a functioning prototype, our team is developing HP3, the Heat flow and Physical Properties Package, a suite of sensors able to measure up to six parameters of the soil investigated. HP3 is an integrated instrument suite, designed to be deployed by a dedicated Mole. While descending and once in place, it will perform in-situ measurements of the regolith status and properties. Three different sensors compose HP3. Thermometers and heaters measures the thermal status and the thermal properties; accelerometers and inclinometers derives the mechanical characteristics and the precise position of the tool, while a γ-ray Compton backscattering densitometer measures the density. By combining the data, HP3 can derive the heat flow, providing data on the internal structure and thermal evolution. In the chosen configuration, HP3 is housed in a trailed compartment, connected to the deployment Mole (the "tractor") and, by a flat Copper-Kapton tether, to the surface element. Alternative configurations allow for an optical and IR camera and for miniaturized spectrometers, depending mainly on the payload capabilities of the delivering spacecraft.
- Abstract document