TY - GEN
T1 - A Feasibility Study of Microsat Mission Architectures for Ring Science in the Uranian System
AU - Olson, An Ya
AU - Sinha, Amlan
AU - Chhabra, Arjun
AU - Fry, Sarah
AU - Ahner, Kristen
AU - Beeson, Ryne
AU - Rajguru, Adarsh
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - With an increase in focus on the exploration and characterization of the Ice Giants, there is a growing need to develop mission architectures to perform scientific operations in the Uranian system. Science goals have been outlined by NASA in their Ice Giants Pre-Decadal Mission Study Report, but science priority and mission design are made difficult by the lack of knowledge of the Ice Giant systems. A primary architecture for conducting scientific exploration of Uranus has previously been identified as an orbiter with an atmospheric probe. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of a supplemental microsat-class spacecraft to this architecture, which would allow greater flexibility in achieving secondary science objectives with low risk and cost. We focus primarily on mission requirements for key ring science goals, leading to trajectory design guidelines and mission constraints necessary for characterizing the structure, dynamics, and composition of rings in the Uranian system. Broader compliance with the primary orbiter and probe architecture are studied, and guidance on instrumentation and subsystem-level requirements are detailed.
AB - With an increase in focus on the exploration and characterization of the Ice Giants, there is a growing need to develop mission architectures to perform scientific operations in the Uranian system. Science goals have been outlined by NASA in their Ice Giants Pre-Decadal Mission Study Report, but science priority and mission design are made difficult by the lack of knowledge of the Ice Giant systems. A primary architecture for conducting scientific exploration of Uranus has previously been identified as an orbiter with an atmospheric probe. In this paper, we explore the feasibility of a supplemental microsat-class spacecraft to this architecture, which would allow greater flexibility in achieving secondary science objectives with low risk and cost. We focus primarily on mission requirements for key ring science goals, leading to trajectory design guidelines and mission constraints necessary for characterizing the structure, dynamics, and composition of rings in the Uranian system. Broader compliance with the primary orbiter and probe architecture are studied, and guidance on instrumentation and subsystem-level requirements are detailed.
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U2 - 10.2514/6.2024-1060
DO - 10.2514/6.2024-1060
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85193965256
SN - 9781624107115
T3 - AIAA SciTech Forum and Exposition, 2024
BT - AIAA SciTech Forum and Exposition, 2024
PB - American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA
T2 - AIAA SciTech Forum and Exposition, 2024
Y2 - 8 January 2024 through 12 January 2024
ER -