PANIC - A surface science package for the in situ characterization of a near-Earth asteroid

摘要

This paper presents the results of a mission concept study for an autonomousmicro-scale surface lander also referred to as PANIC - the Pico AutonomousNear-Earth Asteroid In Situ Characterizer. The lander is based on the shape ofa regular tetrahedron with an edge length of 35 cm, has a total mass ofapproximately 12 kg and utilizes hopping as a locomotion mechanism inmicrogravity. PANIC houses four scientific instruments in its proposed baselineconfiguration which enable the in situ characterization of an asteroid. It iscarried by an interplanetary probe to its target and released to the surfaceafter rendezvous. Detailed estimates of all critical subsystem parameters werederived to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. The study illustratesthat a small, simple landing element is a viable alternative to complextraditional lander concepts, adding a significant science return to anynear-Earth asteroid (NEA) mission while meeting tight mass budget constraints.