A Voyager-style tour of comets and asteroids 1994-2005A low cost program that links a dual-comet flyby sample-return mission with a multicomet/asteroid tour is proposed. Two spacecraft are used to carry out this program: a three-axis stabilized Observer-class spacecraft and a smaller spin-stabilized sample-return probe. The Observer spacecraft uses earth-swingby and propulsive maneuvers to accomplish the small-body tour, which includes flybys of three comets (Tempel-1, Tempel-2, and Encke) and two asteroids (46-Hestia and 433-Eros) over a 12-year period. Two of these comets (Tempel-1 and Tempel-2) are also the shared targets, the Observer serves as a navigational aid for the probe, which scoops up dust particles as it flies through the cometary atmosphere. After collecting the cometary dust samples, the probe returns to a low earth orbit where it is recovered by the Space Shuttle.
Document ID
19870035445
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Farquhar, Robert W. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dunham, David W. (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Hsu, Shao-Chiang (Computer Sciences Corp. Silver Spring, MD, United States)