Asteroid Robotic Mission Overview - National Space Grant...

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Asteroid Robotic Mission Overview: A First Step in the Journey of Human Space Exploration and Settlement Virginia Space Grant Consortium Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference Williamsburg, Virginia September 25, 2014 Dan Mazanek Senior Space Systems Engineer NASA Langley Research Center

Transcript of Asteroid Robotic Mission Overview - National Space Grant...

Asteroid Robotic Mission Overview: A First Step in the Journey of Human Space Exploration

and Settlement

Virginia Space Grant Consortium Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference

Williamsburg, Virginia – September 25, 2014

Dan Mazanek Senior Space Systems Engineer

NASA Langley Research Center

The Future of Human Space Exploration NASA’s Building Blocks to Mars

Earth Reliant Proving Ground Earth Independent

Missions: 6 to 12 months

Return: hours

Missions: 1 month up to 12 months

Return: days

Missions: 2 to 3 years

Return: months

Mastering the

fundamentals

aboard the

International

Space Station

Developing

planetary

independence

by exploring

Mars, its moons,

and other deep

space

destinations

U.S. companies

provide

affordable

access to low

Earth orbit

Pushing the

boundaries in

cis-lunar space

The next step: traveling

beyond low-Earth orbit with the

Space Launch System rocket

and Orion crew capsule

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Asteroid Redirect Mission: Three Main Segments

EXPLORE Crews launch aboard SLS

rocket, travel to redirected

asteroid in Orion spacecraft

to rendezvous with redirected

asteroid – explore, study,

sample return to Earth

Goldstone Arecibo

Infrared Telescope Facility NEOWISE

IDENTIFY

Ground and space

based assets detect and

characterize potential

target asteroids

Pan-STARRS

REDIRECT Solar electric propulsion

(SEP) based robotic

capture system redirects

asteroid to cis-lunar

space (two options) A B

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Asteroid Redirect Mission Overview Video

Animation Credit: NASA/AMA, Inc.

Previous Slides (3) Image Credits: NASA/JPL/AMA, Inc.

NASA’s Asteroid Initiative

Enhanced

Near-Earth

Object

Observation

Campaign

Asteroid

Redirect

Mission

Grand

Challenge

Robotic Mission

to Redirect an

Asteroid with

Solar Electric

Propulsion

(SEP)

Human Mission

to an

Asteroid

Diverse

Stakeholder

Engagement

Planetary

Defense

Approaches

Learning how

to manipulate

and interact

with a NEA

Grand Challenge Statement

“Find all asteroid threats to human populations and know what to do about them”

(Announced June 18, 2013)

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Objectives of Asteroid Redirect Mission

• Conduct a human exploration mission to an asteroid in

the mid-2020’s, providing systems and operational

experience required for human exploration of Mars.

• Demonstrate an advanced solar electric propulsion

system, enabling future deep-space human and

robotic exploration with applicability to the nation’s

public and private sector space needs.

• Enhance detection, tracking and characterization

of Near Earth Asteroids, enabling an overall strategy to

defend our home planet.

• Demonstrate basic planetary defense techniques

that will inform impact threat mitigation strategies to

defend our home planet.

• Pursue a target of opportunity that benefits scientific

and partnership interests, expanding our knowledge

of small celestial bodies and enabling the mining

of asteroid resources for commercial and exploration

needs.

Image Credits: NASA/AMA, Inc. 6

Previous Slide Image Credits: NASA/JPL/AMA, Inc.

Asteroid Redirect Mission Robotic Concepts

Small Asteroid Capture Robotic Boulder Capture

SEP

Module

Capture

Module Mission

Module

SEP

Module

Capture

Module

Mission

Module

Image Credits: NASA/AMA, Inc. 7

Currently Known Candidate Asteroids for ARM

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For Option A:

• Currently, 9 potential candidates; 3 found last year

• 3 validated candidates:

– 2009 BD – ~ 4 meter size inferred by Spitzer data

– 2013 EC20 – ~ 2 meter size determined by radar imaging

– 2011 MD – ~ 6 meter size determined by Spitzer data

• Possibly another candidate validated in 2016: 2008 HU4 – radar opportunity

• Additional valid candidates expected at a rate of 1-2 per year

For Option B:

• Lots of potential candidates

• Currently, 3 validated candidates:

– Itokawa - imaged by Hayabusa

– Bennu and 2008 EV5 – imaged by radar

• 1 possible valid candidate in 2018: 1999 JU3 - Hayabusa 2 target

• Potentially future valid candidates with inferred boulders, rate of ~1 per year

Note: Sphere is representative only. Retrieved asteroid/boulder will not

be spherical in shape

1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m

Size Comparisons

Itokawa

Itokawa Boulder

NEA 2009 BD

5 m asteroid/ boulder

EVA Crew Member

10 m

3 m

Image Credits:

NASA/AMA, Inc. 9

Asteroid or Boulder Mass and Size and Density

Metallic Stony Carbonaceous Mass (t)

1

10

20

50

100

500

3.22 g/cm3 5.2 g/cm3 1.62 g/cm3

NEA Type

0.7 m 0.8 m 1.1 m

1.5 m 1.8 m 2.3 m

1.9 m 2.3 m 2.9 m

5.7 m 8.4 m

Note: Assumes spherical extent

2.6 m 3.1 m

4.9 m 3.3 m 3.9 m

6.7 m

3.9 m

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Option B returns smaller

mass because larger

NEAs further away

Image Credits: NASA/JPL/AMA, Inc.

Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV) Configuration

SEP Module

Launch Vehicle

Interface

Capture Module

Mission Module

Orion docking interface

Crew access path

Image Credits: NASA/JPL/AMA, Inc.

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Representative ARV Configurations

with Solar Arrays Deployed

Image Credits: NASA/JPL 12

STMD Solar Array Technology Work in FY 2014

Design, Build and Test of Solar Arrays • MegaFlex “fold out” solar array

• Mega-ROSA “roll out” solar array

Environmental Testing Completed •Thermal vacuum full scale deployment

•Stowed wing vibration or acoustic exposure

Each wing sized for nominally 20kW BOL

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Analyses and Models Include:

• Design extensibility to 250kW system

• Finite element (stowed and deployed)

• CAD models (stowed and deployed)

• Structural Dynamics (stowed and deployed)

• Thermal

Image Credits: NASA

Cut away of NASA 300V PPU JPL H6 with magnetic shielding

GRC 300M with magnetic shielding

STMD Electric Propulsion Work in FY14

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• Develop high power Hall thruster 12.5 kW-class (2X

current SOA)

• Developed magnetically shielded design to provide

long life commensurate with ARM and future

missions

• Pursued high voltage (i.e. 300V input) PPU system

compatible with high power thrusters

Image Credits: NASA

Petal

Petal-to-arm

hinge

Tube

assembly

Arm

Tube-to-tube

junction Stowed

Deployed

Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission

Option A: Internal Risk Reduction Status

15 Image Credits: NASA/JPL

Option B

Proximity Operations and Capture System Options

Hybrid

3-DOF

Spaceframe

7-DOF

Arms

Contact

NEA

Hover 3 options

assessed

2 Capture Arms 3 Capture Spaceframes

2 Capture Arms

3 Contact Spaceframes

3 Capture Spaceframes

3 Contact Spaceframes 2 Capture Arms

3 Contact Arms

DOF = Degree of Freedom Image Credits: NASA/AMA, Inc. 16

Capture Arm &Tool Contact/Restraint “Legs”

Closed-Loop Sim Relative Navigation

Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission

Option B: Internal Risk Reduction Status

17 Image Credits: NASA/JPL

ARV Modular Approach

SEP

Module

Common

Interface

• Improves integration and functional testing

• Streamlines interface between the Capture Module

and the Mission Module, but increases management

and systems engineering.

• Promotes reuse of SEP Module & Mission Module

designs

Unconditioned

Power, Data, Thermal

Spaceframe Hybrid 7-DOF Arms

Mission

Module Capture Module

Image Credits: NASA/AMA, Inc. 18

Planetary Defense Demonstration Options

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y

Ion Beam Deflector – Options A & B

Gravity Tractor – Options A & B

Enhanced Gravity Tractor – Option B

• Uses a beam of quasi-neutral plasma

from an electric propulsion system to

impinge upon the NEA’s surface to

create a force and/or a torque on the

target. Image Credits: JPL-Caltech

• Use of mutual gravitational attraction to “pull” the NEA and

change its orbit while maintaining spacecraft separation

utilizing high-specific impulse propulsion.

• Uses mass augmentation at the NEA.

– Total mass can be significantly enhanced to reduce time

required for deflection (10X or more).

– Requires interaction with the NEA’s surface to collect sufficient

amount of material. Image Credit: NASA/JAXA

Resource Utilization and Planetary Defense

• Asteroids and comets represent a valuable resource for space development and settlement, as well as an inevitable hazard.

• No dedicated planetary defense system exists and funding one is unlikely due to the infrequency of impacts.

• Developing the technologies, systems, and operational approaches for utilization also helps us to be prepared to divert a future impactor.

• Integrated solution

− Efficiently move large amounts of useful asteroidal material to permit processing technique demonstrations (departure vs. destination) to leverage the economic potential of NEAs.

− Provides the foundation for “on call” planetary defense.

− No development and launch, along with personnel that are trained and proficient in operating the systems, can solve the “Impact Dilemma” (bulldozers for snowplows analogy).

Image Credit: Planetary Resources

Image Credit: Deep Space Industries

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Image Credit: NASA/AMA, Inc.

ARM Opportunities and Extensibility

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Small Asteroid Capture Robotic Boulder Capture

• ARM prox ops, autonomous ops, characterization & algorithms applicable • Slow Push/Pull techniques implemented with small development costs (IBD & GT)

• Techniques verifiable much more quickly on a <10 m NEA

• More relevant on hazardous-size NEA • Opportunity for kinetic impactor

Planetary Defense

Small Asteroid Capture Robotic Boulder Capture

• Applicability of high power SEP, ARM engineering instruments • Potential to host “target of opportunity” payloads

• Opportunity to learn about < 10 m asteroids; ~1:10 are C-type

• Better opportunity to return desired material (if C-type) w/geologic context

Science, Commercial and Resource Use

Small Asteroid Capture Robotic Boulder Capture

• In-space SEP and prox ops w/uncooperative target provides broad opportunities (human exploration, science, commercial)

• Supports Exploration Roadmap with partnership opportunities – Mars Forward

• Inflatable technology uses • Ion Beam Deflection for orbital debris

• Near surface ops; remote manipulator and gripper applicability

Extensibility

Image Credits: NASA/AMA, Inc. 21

Getting There…

Image Credit: NASA/AMA, Inc. Thank you for your time and attention. Questions?