SMALL BODY SAMPLING TECHNIQUES BEING DEVELOPED AT JOHNS HOP KINS UNIVERSITY APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY

摘要

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) has been developing techniques to collect samples of regolith from small extraterrestrial bodies, such as planets, moons, and asteroids, in a micro-gravity environment and store them in a Sample Return Vehicle. We believe that sample return missions are the next critical step in space science to understand the origins of our solar system. The only extraterrestrial samples that have been collected and returned to the earth by spacecraft since the Apollo and Luna moon missions are Genesis (charged particles from solar wind) and Stardust (comet dust and interstellar particles). As a first step, building on experience gained from the NEAR spacecraft landing on Eros, we are developing a sample return system that does not require a spacecraft landing on a body, but an impacting it for about 1-2 seconds. During this sampling/impact event, we expect to be able to collect up to four types of regolith samples consisting of a surface sample, a bulk material sample, a core sample that maintains stratigraphy, and a chipped fragment. We believe that this system will prepare us to take the next step in collecting a regolith sample from an extraterrestrial body and returning it to the earth.