| BepiColombo | |
| Organization | European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency |
|---|---|
| Major contractors | EADS Astrium is Prime-Contractor for ESA modules. The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member The, or JAXA, is Japan's national Aerospace agency JAXA was formed on October 1 2003 as an Independent Administrative Institution through the EADS Astrium is an Aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS based in Hampshire England The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member |
| Mission type | Orbiter |
| Flyby of | Moon, Earth, Venus, and Mercury |
| Satellite of | Mercury |
| Orbital insertion date | June 4, 2019 |
| Launch date | August, 2013 |
| Launch vehicle | Soyuz 2-1B/Fregat-M from Kourou |
| NSSDC ID | BEPICLMBO |
| Webpage | BepiColombo Home |
| Power | 5. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University The Soyuz launch vehicle (Western designation A-2 is an Expendable launch system manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara Russia. The International Designator (or NSSDC ID) is an international naming convention for Satellites It consists of the launch year a 3-digit incrementing launch number 5 kW available at 1 AU |
| Orbital elements | |
| Orbital period | 2. The elements of an orbit are the parameters needed to specify that Orbit uniquely given a model of two point-masses obeying the Newtonian laws of motion and the The orbital period is the time taken for a given object to make one complete Orbit about another object 3 h (MPO) |
| Apoapsis | 1508 km (MPO) |
| Periapsis | 400 km (MPO) |
BepiColombo is a joint Cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to the planet Mercury. In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from In Celestial mechanics, an apsis, plural apsides (ˈæpsɨdɪːz is the point of greatest or least distance of the Elliptical orbit of an object from The European Space Agency ( ESA) established in 1975 is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 17 member The, or JAXA, is Japan's national Aerospace agency JAXA was formed on October 1 2003 as an Independent Administrative Institution through the [1] The mission is still in the planning stages so changes to the current description are likely over the next few years. Due to budgetary constraints and technological difficulties, the lander portion of the mission, the Mercury Surface Element (MSE) was cancelled.
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Mission
The mission as currently envisioned involves three components: the Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) built by ESA, the Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) built by ESA and the Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO) built by JAXA. There is a fourth component: The MOSIF the sunshield for the MMO, built by ESA. The prime contractor for ESA is EADS Astrium. A general contractor is a group or individual that Contracts with another organization or individual (the owner for the Construction or Renovation EADS Astrium is an Aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS based in Hampshire England [2]. The three components are planned to be launched together on a Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle in August 2013. The Soyuz launch vehicle (Western designation A-2 is an Expendable launch system manufactured by TsSKB-Progress in Samara Russia. The spacecraft will have a six year interplanetary cruise to Mercury using solar-electric propulsion and gravity assists from the Moon, Earth, Venus and eventual gravity capture at Mercury. EARTH was a short-lived Japanese vocal trio which released 6 singles and 1 album between 2000 and 2001 The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University
Arriving in Mercury orbit in August 2019, the spacecraft will have a 1-year nominal scientific life. The MPO will be equipped with eleven scientific instruments provided by various European countries including visible imagers, a laser altimeter and an imaging X-ray spectrometer. Russia will provide a gamma ray and neutron spectrometer. It will attempt to map the entire surface, in several different wavelengths, and to find water ice in polar craters which are permanently in shadow from the sun's rays. In Physics wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a propagating Wave of a given Frequency.
Mercury Transfer Module
The mercury transfer module is at the base of the 'stack' and provides propulsion to escape Earth and to approach Mercury. It carries no significant scientific instruments.
Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO)
The Mercury Planetary Orbiter will be a 357 kg spacecraft in the shape of a flat prism with three short sides slanted at 20 degrees covered with solar cells providing 420 W at perihelion. A radiator with an area of 1. 5 square meters is mounted on one side to provide thermal control. The radiator is always pointed away from the Sun and is protected from planetary IR with a 3. 4 square meter shield. High efficiency insulation is also used. A 1. 5 m diameter high gain antenna is mounted on a short boom on the zenith side of the spacecraft. The MPO will be 3-axis stabilized and nadir pointing with a planned lifetime of over 1 year in Mercury orbit. Communications will be on the X/Ka band with an average bit rate of 50 kbit/s and a total data volume of 1550 Gb/year. A UHF dipole antenna mounted on the nadir side will be used for possible communications with the MSE. Navigation knowledge is provided by 3 star sensors.
The MPO will carry an imaging system consisting of a wide-angle and narrow angle camera, an infrared spectrometer, an ultraviolet spectrometer, gamm, X-ray, and neutron spectrometers, a laser altimeter, an ion and neutral spectrometer, a Near Earth Object telescope and detection system, and radio science experiments.
ESA has selected Astrium as the prime contractor for the construction of the MPO. EADS Astrium is an Aerospace subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS based in Hampshire England [3]
Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (MMO)
The Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter has the shape of a flat cylinder with a mass of 165 kg (364 lb). [4] The MMO is spin stabilized at 15 rpm with the spin axis perpendicular to the equator of Mercury. The top and bottom of the cylinder act as radiators with louvers for active temperature control. The side is covered with solar cells which provide 185 W and second surface mirrors and protected by thermal blankets. Communications with Earth are maintained through a despun 1-meter diameter high-gain offset antenna and two medium-gain antennas operating in the X-band. Telemetry will return 160 Gb of data per year at about 5 kbit/s over the lifetime of the craft, which is expected to be greater than one year. A microstrip UHF patch antenna will be used for communication with the MSE. The reaction and control system is based on cold gas thrusters. A cold gas thruster is a rocket engine/thruster that uses a (typically inert gas as the reaction mass Deployable booms and wire antennas are stowed until orbit is achieved. The MMO will carry a set of fluxgate magnetometers, charged particle detectors, a wave receiver, a positive ion emitter, and an imaging system.
Mercury Surface Element (MSE)
The Mercury Surface Element has been cancelled due to budgetary constraints.
At the time of cancellation, MSE was meant to be a small (44 kg) lander designed to operate for about one week on the surface of Mercury. Shaped as a 0. 9 m diameter disc, it was designed to land at a latitude of 85 degrees near the terminator region. Following the release of the MMO, a burn of the 4 kN thruster would put the MSE into a 10 km orbit. Another braking maneuver controlled by gyros/accelerometers and an optical range/range-rate sensor would bring the MSE to zero velocity at an altitude of 120 meters at which point the propulsion unit would be ejected, the airbags inflated, and the module would fall to the surface with a maximum impact velocity of 30 m/s. If the landing occurs in sunlight a thermal protection cover would deploy. Since 40% of the terrain at the landing point would be in shadow, primary power would be supplied by a 1. 7 kWh battery. Scientific data would be stored onboard and relayed via a cross-dipole UHF antenna to either the MPO or MMO at a data rate of 8. 7 kbit/s, providing for a total of 75 Mb over 7 days, assuming 18 contact periods of 480 seconds each. The MSE would carry a 7 kg payload consisting of an imaging system (a descent camera and a surface camera), a heat flow and physical properties package, an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer, a magnetometer, a seismometer, a soil penetrating device (mole), and a micro-rover. APXS is also an abbreviation for AP ache e' X' ten' S' ion tool an extension for Apache web servers A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of the Magnetic field in the vicinity of the instrument Seismometers (from Greek Seism - "the shakes" - and Metro - "I measure" are instruments that measure and record motions of the ground including A rover is a Space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of a Planet or other Astronomical body.
Propulsion
The MTM (Mercury Transfer Module) will utilise two propulsion systems. A standard CPS (Chemical Propulsion System) which is bipropellant using MMH/MON3. Monomethylhydrazine ( MMH) is a volatile Hydrazine with the Chemical formula C[[Hydrogen H]]3 N 2 The CPS will be utilised for Earth escape and the Lunar fly-by. Post-Lunar escape the CPS will be pyrotechnically isolated and function in blowdown mode for the cruise, only utilising the AOCS. The spacecraft will be propelled in cruise by a form of ion drive dubbed solar electric propulsion, which has a very high specific impulse and very low thrust. An ion thruster is a form of Electric propulsion used for Spacecraft propulsion that creates thrust by accelerating Ions Ion thrusters are characterized An ion thruster is a form of Electric propulsion used for Spacecraft propulsion that creates thrust by accelerating Ions Ion thrusters are characterized Specific impulse (usually abbreviated I sp is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton 's Second and Third Laws. Unlike a chemical rocket which fires for a few seconds, it will keep propelling the craft for years, building up far more speed per mass of fuel in the long run. This will be the ESA's first mission outside the Earth-Moon system using such a form of propulsion. Bepi Colombo is also the largest solar electric mission so far planned.
This drive will be tested by the unusual need to actually push against the direction of travel, instead of with it; the ship will be falling toward the sun, accelerated by its gravity, and will have to constantly fight to keep its velocity slow enough to eventually enter Mercury's orbit.
Namesake
BepiColombo is named for Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo (1920-1984), scientist, mathematician and engineer at the University of Padua, Italy, who developed the gravity-assist maneuver commonly used by planetary probes today. Giuseppe Colombo ( October 2, 1920 – February 20, 1984) better known by his nickname Bepi Colombo, was an Italian Scientist A scientist, in the broadest sense refers to any person that engages in a systematic activity to acquire Knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study and research is the field of Mathematics. An engineer is a person professionally engaged in a field of Engineering. The University of Padua ( Italian Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) located in Padua, Italy, was founded in 1222 Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest He helped NASA to devise the trajectory of Mariner 10, the only spacecraft to encounter Mercury during the twentieth century, exploiting this maneuver for the first time around Venus. Mariner 10 was a robotic Space probe launched on November 3, 1973 to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus.
See also
References
- ^ Amos, Jonathan (18 January 2008). The MErcury Surface Space ENvironment GEochemistry and Ranging ( MESSENGER) probe is a NASA Spacecraft, launched August 3, 2004 Mariner 10 was a robotic Space probe launched on November 3, 1973 to fly by the planets Mercury and Venus. European probe aims for Mercury (web). The European Space Agency (Esa) has signed an industrial contract to build a probe to send to the planet Mercury. . BBC News. Retrieved on 2008-01-21. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade.
- ^ BepiColombo To Enter Implementation Phase. ESA.
- ^ BepiColombo To Enter Implementation Phase. ESA.
- ^ H. Yamakawa, H. Ogawa, Y. Kasaba, H. Hayakawa, T. Mukai, M. Adachi (2004). "Current status of the BepiColombo/MMO spacecraft design". Advances in Space Research 33: 2133–2141. doi:. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
External links
- ESA site
- BepiColombo page at ESA Spacecraft Operations
- BepiColombo Mission Profile by NASA's Solar System Exploration
- http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=BEPICLMBO
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