Probing the origin of the solar system - Marco Polo, a Near-Earth Object Sample Return Mission
- Paper number
IAC-08.A3.5.3
- Author
Dr. Detlef Koschny, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Prof. Maria Antonietta Barucci, Observatoire de Paris – LESIA, France
- Coauthor
Dr. Makoto Yoshikawa, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan
- Coauthor
Dr. Hermann Böhnhardt, Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research, Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. John Robert Brucato, Italy
- Coauthor
Mr. Marcello Coradini, European Space Agency (ESA), France
- Coauthor
Dr. Elisabetta Dotto, Italy
- Coauthor
Dr. Ian Franchi, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Dr. Simon Green, United Kingdom
- Coauthor
Dr. Jean-Luc Josset, Space Exploration Institute (SPACE-X), Switzerland
- Coauthor
Dr. Junichiro Kawaguchi, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan
- Coauthor
Dr. Patrick Michel, CNRS, France
- Coauthor
Dr. Karri Muinonen, Finland
- Coauthor
Dr. J"urgen Oberst, Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Hajime Yano, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Japan
- Coauthor
Prof. Richard Binzel, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. David Agnolon, The Netherlands
- Coauthor
Dr. Jens Romstedt, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands
- Year
2008
- Abstract
Marco Polo is a sample return mission to a Near-Earth Object (NEO), selected by ESA for a study in the assessment phase of Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. It is proposed to be performed in collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA). Its primary objective is to return unaltered materials from a primitive NEO to the Earth. These objects are part of the small body population that represents the primitive leftover building blocks of the Solar System formation process. They offer important clues to the chemical mixture from which the planets formed about 4.6 billion years ago and carry records both of the Solar System’s birth and early phases. In addition the mission will allow studying the geological evolution of small bodies. Marco Polo will provide the first opportunity for detailed laboratory study of the most primitive materials that formed the terrestrial planets and advance our understanding of some of the fundamental issues in the origin and early evolution of the Solar System, the Earth and possibly life itself. Determining the physical properties of a NEO will also help assessing mitigation strategies for the impact risk of such an object on the Earth. Marco Polo is based on a launch with a Soyuz-Fregat in the years 2017/2018. The current baseline target for the ESA-internal study is the D-type object 2001SG286; the final target will be decided at a later stage. On arrival at the target (2020-2022), the so-called Mother Spacecraft (MSC) will perform global characterization from low (a few km) orbit for several months before descending to one or more selected locations on the surface for the sampling activities. Up to five sampling attempts can be performed. The possibility of sampling multiple sites is being analysed. An optional lander will be released to provide independent surface measurements to complement the remote sensing programme. The samples will be transferred to a Sample Return Capsule (SRC) which will be released from the MSC on a re-entry trajectory into the Earth’s atmosphere in (2022-2024). The science requirements for the mission have been defined and will be presented in detail in this talk. Currently, the strawman payload is being iterated and a first internal ESA study is in progresss. In May 2008, an industrial study will be kicked off.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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