Solar-electric propulsion for deep-space is aim of NASA ARRMS program

摘要

U.S. space researchers are asking industry for ideas on developing spacecraft solar-electric propulsion for deep-space missions that could lead to a future robotic spacecraft able to retrieve a 20-ton rock from a near-Earth asteroid. Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif, have released a solicitation (DMS-2672-080416I) for the first phase of the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission Spacecraft (ARRMS) program. The Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission is part of NASA's plan for using cislunar space - the area between Earth and the moon - as a proving ground for future human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit.