REMORA - REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids: A fleet of Self-driven CubeSats for Tracking and Characterising Asteroids

REMORA - 小行星轨道重建交会任务：一组用于跟踪和表征小行星的自驱动立方体卫星

• 批准号: MR/W009498/1
• 负责人: Stefania Soldini
• 金额: $ 194.95万
• 依托单位: University of Liverpool
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FW009498%2F1
• 关键词: REMORA; REndezvous; Mission; Orbital; Reconstruction

As of January 2021, our solar system is populated by 24,797 known Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) classified as asteroids (24,684) and comets (113). Asteroids over 140-meter diameter whose trajectories cross the Earth's orbit, represent a threat for our planet and are classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) - 2,156 objects. The need to accurately predict the orbit of PHAs emerged as a serious issue in 2004 when investigations into the trajectory of the asteroid Apophis (~350-meter diameter) revealed a high impact probability with Earth in 2029. Further observations concluded that Apophis no longer posed a risk in 2029 but it could now impact the Earth in 2036. Apophis serves to highlight the current limitations in observations to accurately predict asteroid orbits and their potential impacts. Moreover, PHA mitigation became a priority only in 2013 when an asteroid of ~20-meter diameter caused approximately 1,600 injuries in Chelyabinsk (RU). As the asteroid's trajectory placed it in the Earth's daytime sky, it was undetected by ground-based telescopes, therefore no warning was given to the local population. The Chelyabinsk incident revealed that impacts of relatively small asteroids can pose a significant threat. Given that such events could occur in the future, with the potential to cause severe injuries/loss of life, economic disruption, and material damage, how can the next generation of space-based technology overcome the limitations of telescopes to systematically track and characterise PHAs?REMORA - REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids: A fleet of Self-driven CubeSats for Tracking and Characterising Asteroids explores a new mission idea, inspired by the symbiotic relationship between remora fish (i.e., CubeSats, 10x10x10 cm and 1.35 kg per unit) and sharks (i.e., target asteroids). As remoras attach to sharks using them for food and free transportation, similarly, a fleet of CubeSats tagging asteroids will provide high accuracy in orbital determination. Asteroids are, small (1m-100km), inactive, celestial bodies orbiting the Sun. The gravitational forces of the Sun and larger planets alter their orbits, and thus, their motion is not reliably predictable many years into the future (e.g., Apophis) without precise observations and tracking. Moreover, asteroids who orbit in the day-side of the sky are less likely to be discovered (e.g., Chelyabinsk). Therefore, a PHA's physical characteristics and orbit cannot be precisely determined unless a spacecraft rendezvous with it and analyses the asteroid. There is a lack of readily available technology proven to be effective in altering an asteroid's orbit. Before mitigation designs are developed for deflecting a PHA's orbit, it is vitally important to characterise PHAs sufficiently.REMORA will fill the 'gaps' between the limitation of current asteroid observations and the design of future mitigation techniques in response to an imminent PHA threat. Sending a fleet of space sensors, CubeSats, throughout the solar system to rendezvous with asteroids will allow for key orbits to be permanently and accurately tracked and we will move a step forward in defending our planet. Moreover, asteroids are rich in water, a key element for supporting human spaceflight and for enabling in-space construction and reducing costs in spaceflight. Indeed, water is essential for life support, radiation shielding for astronaut safety and in-space manufacturing of rocket fuel for oxygen and hydrogen. In the long-term, unlocking asteroid resources will lead to the development of the asteroid mining industry. Ultimately, REMORA will lay the foundation for a CubeSat's onboard algorithm (i.e., NEAR tool) that will be capable of executing their own mission without ground support - reducing the costs for running deep space programs and enabling flexible, large-scale, and multi-mission architecture (i.e., a fleet).

截至2021年1月，我们的太阳系中有24，797个已知的近地天体（NEO），分为小行星（24，684）和彗星（113）。直径超过140米的小行星，其轨迹穿过地球轨道，对我们的星球构成威胁，被归类为潜在危险小行星（PHA）-2，156个物体。2004年，对小行星阿波菲斯（直径约350米）轨道的调查显示，2029年与地球发生撞击的可能性很高，因此需要准确预测PHA的轨道，这成为一个严重的问题。进一步的观察得出结论，阿波菲斯在2029年不再构成威胁，但它现在可能在2036年影响地球。阿波菲斯强调了目前观测的局限性，以准确预测小行星轨道及其潜在的影响。此外，PHA缓解仅在2013年成为优先事项，当时一颗直径约20米的小行星在车里雅宾斯克（RU）造成约1，600人受伤。由于这颗小行星的轨道位于地球白天的天空中，地面望远镜没有发现它，因此没有向当地居民发出警告。车里雅宾斯克事件表明，相对较小的小行星的撞击可能构成重大威胁。鉴于此类事件今后可能发生，并有可能造成严重伤害/生命损失、经济破坏和物质损失，下一代天基技术如何克服望远镜在系统跟踪和探测近地天体方面的局限性？REMORA -小行星轨道重建的RENSENT使命：一个用于跟踪和表征小行星的自驱动立方体卫星舰队探索了一个新的使命想法，灵感来自于鱼之间的共生关系（即，CubeSats，10 x10 x10厘米，每单位1.35公斤）和鲨鱼（即，目标小行星）。由于鲨鱼附着在鲨鱼身上，利用鲨鱼作为食物和免费运输工具，同样，一个立方体卫星标记小行星的舰队将在轨道确定方面提供高精度。小行星是小的（1米-100公里），不活跃的，围绕太阳运行的天体。太阳和较大行星的引力会改变它们的轨道，因此，它们的运动在未来许多年内都无法可靠地预测（例如，Apophis）没有精确的观测和跟踪。此外，在天空白昼一侧轨道运行的小行星不太可能被发现（例如，车里雅宾斯克）。因此，PHA的物理特性和轨道无法精确确定，除非航天器与它会合并分析小行星。目前还没有现成的技术证明可以有效地改变小行星的轨道。在为使PHA的轨道偏转而制定缓减设计之前，充分利用PHA是至关重要的。REMORA将填补目前小行星观测的局限性与为应对迫在眉睫的PHA威胁而设计未来缓减技术之间的“空白”。在整个太阳系发送一个空间传感器舰队，立方体卫星，与小行星会合，将允许永久和准确地跟踪关键轨道，我们将在保卫我们的星球方面向前迈进一步。此外，小行星富含水，这是支持载人航天飞行以及实现空间建筑和降低航天飞行成本的关键要素。事实上，水对于维持生命、保护宇航员安全的辐射屏蔽以及在太空中制造氧气和氢气火箭燃料都是必不可少的。从长远来看，解锁小行星资源将导致小行星采矿业的发展。最终，REMORA将为CubeSat的机载算法奠定基础（即，NEAR工具），将能够在没有地面支持的情况下执行自己的使命-降低运行深空计划的成本，并实现灵活、大规模和多使命架构（即，舰队）。