Hypervelocity Artificial Meteoroid Experiment (HAME) – A Feasibility Study
- Paper number
IAC-11,A1,5,15,x9400
- Author
Ms. Jorgina Busquets, EADS Astrium, United Kingdom
- Year
2011
- Abstract
Meteorites have significantly contributed to the understanding of the origins of the Solar System or the nature of processes like planet differentiation. Nevertheless, there is not accurate knowledge available of how they are modified or influenced by an Earth′s atmospheric entry process. HAM·E, Hypervelocity Artificial Meteoroid Experiment, is a project that was born once it was noticed that there was a lack of boundary condition data on meteor atmospheric entry. It aims to produce a hypervelocity atmospheric entry event of a body originating from Earth that enables boundary conditions for the Earth re-entry phenomenon to be obtained and related key scientific questions to be addressed. This paper is the result of a feasibility study of HAM·E concept. It included an extensive research to identify scientific needs and potential fields for HAM·E′s contribution; the establishment of a set of science objectives responding to the identified scientific needs and the derivation of a sensible set of science requirements, considering their engineering implications. Also, it flagged possible engineering challenges and problems and suggested two possible conceptual baselines of HAM·E. The top-goals of HAM·E include providing new insights into the lithopanspermia theory and the presence of organics on Earth, providing tools to evaluate meteorite threat and providing experimental data on meteor entry to validate or build up physical and chemical models and contribute to the understanding of several processes associated with it. These top goals are particularised into eight science objectives that include validating current ablation or fragmentation existing models for atmospheric entry, providing some experimental proof of the effect of an atmospheric entry in organics processing or calibrating ground or satellite-based instrumentations used to monitor the entry of meteoroids. In order to meet those, two baselines were suggested. Both of them are based on sending several rocks inside a S/C, speeding them up by means of choosing adequate trajectories and releasing them at the beginning of the atmosphere, with some of them (mission B) breaking up and some others (mission A) not. All the key aspects associated with its design are analysed and it is seen that HAM·E could indeed be worth pursuing, for the valuable scientific insights it could provide at a reasonable cost.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)