This paper investigates the sensitivities of spherical lander deployment to small bodies. Previous work established methods to simulate the motion of such landers in the gravitationally and topographically complex small-body environment. These methods are extended, primarily through the inclusion of a “persistent” rock model that accounts for the observed distribution of rocks and boulders on the small-body surface. The resulting framework is applied to investigate the effects of relevant environmental and hardware parameters on trends in the deployment of a lander. In the dynamically favorable environment of asteroid Itokawa, variations in the surface interaction, rock distribution, and lander mass distribution scale the settling time, slope, and surface dispersion of a given deployment scenario. In the more challenging environment of asteroid 1999 Alpha, these parameters determine the success rate with which landers are delivered to the surface, and they should be carefully considered during deployment design. The current results underscore the importance of high-fidelity modeling, may provide guidelines for the hardware and mission operations design of lander spacecraft, and may prioritize particular studies and observations of the small-body (sub)surface.
Parametric Study of Ballistic Lander Deployment to Small Bodies
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets ; 54 , 6 ; 1330-1355
2017-08-28
26 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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