Elsevier

Progress in Aerospace Sciences

Volume 104, January 2019, Pages 20-39
Progress in Aerospace Sciences

From idea to flight - A review of the Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) development and a comparison to historical fast-paced space programs

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2018.11.001Get rights and content

Abstract

Now spanning a time frame of already 10 years, the plan to land a European Lander on an asteroid has finally been accomplished. The first idea was established around 2008 in the framework of the European Marco Polo Assessment, studying the possibility to collect a pristine sample of a Near-Earth Asteroid and returning it back to Earth. The lander named MASCOT (Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout) was proposed to be carried by the main spacecraft, to land on the surface and by the ability to relocate to investigate multiple surface locations in order to scout the best possible sampling site. After the discontinuation of the original study, MASCOT received an invitation from JAXA to join-in the Hayabusa2 mission, the direct follow-up of the first asteroid sampler Hayabusa. However, MASCOT was selected at a time (mid 2011) when its conceptual design and scientific payloads had not been fully defined; with the carrier spacecraft already in its critical design phase having most of its interfaces fixed; no heritage to use off-the-shelf bus equipment directly and only 3 years left until a proposed final delivery. The tight schedule, tightly defined envelope, and strict margins policy were challenges during its development at all levels. Nevertheless, Hayabusa2 and MASCOT were launched on December 3rd, 2014, and arrived at their destined target asteroid (162173) Ryugu on June 27, 2018. Finally, MASCOT was separated from its mother spacecraft and successfully landed on October 3rd, 2018, accomplishing the first ever landing of a European spacecraft on the surface of an asteroid. This paper provides a review of the performed MASCOT development process including its verification strategy from the first unit hardware test to the final check-out before launch. In addition, it also provides a historical comparison to former fast-paced programs in space.

Section snippets

Introduction and background

The search for the origins of life and an increased awareness of the risks posed by possible asteroid impacts are two corner stones in the international space exploration endeavour [1]. Asteroids, which are the leftovers of planet formation, are thought to have formed during the accretion process of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Since this time, they have changed only little preserving the original content of material from which the planets, including the Earth, have been formed.

On

Mission and system overview

Hayabusa2 (HY-2) and MASCOT arrived at their target asteroid (162173) Ryugu on June 27, 2018. After arrival, HY-2 first performed a global mapping in order to characterize the asteroid and to find a suitable landing site for MASCOT based on local geology and thermal constraints. On October 3rd, 2018, HY-2 descended to the separation altitude of 51 m, at which point MASCOT was ejected via a spring mechanism with a controlled low velocity in the order of a few cm/s. MASCOT fell to the asteroid

The development program

The typical life cycle model for space projects as defined by ESA and NASA is divided in 6–7 phases (0/A: Mission analysis/feasibility to F:Disposal). These phases stem from the original partition of lifecycle stages as defined in the ISO/IEC 15288: Concept Stage, Development Stage, Production Stage, Utilization and Support Stage, Retirement Phase [17]. While the early phases are dedicated to detailing and improving the design, phases C and D are dedicated to the implementation and realization

Verification and test activities

The two most challenging tasks on MASCOT Module Level were the qualification for its primary structure and its thermal design. In order to meet the strict mass and volume requirement an ultra-lightweight CFRP-foam sandwich frame was designed for MASCOTs LM and a solid CFRP truss frame for its MESS. The thermal architecture was designed to be robust, thus capable to withstand a wide range of temperatures during the different mission phases like Cruise Phase, Separation, Descent and Landing and

A brief history of crash programs in space

Highly accelerated technology development programs are not new. Mostly, they have been associated with wartime efforts, exceptional scarcity of resources, or situations of intense competition in industry [[23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28]], or the advent of disruptive inventions. Well known examples include the invention of the cavity magnetron [[29], [30], [31], [32], [33], [34], [35], [36]], as well as navigation, communication, and weather satellites [37] or stealth aircraft [[38], [39],

Project Ranger - the pursuit of zero risk tolerance

Project Ranger in many ways is the contemporary civilian counterpart to CORONA. Both began in the aftershocks of Sputnik and found their final form by the mid-1960s, both were highly complex in their time, and both lasted for only a few days per flight. Also, due to the covert nature of CORONA in particular regarding the full technical capabilities of the spacecraft, both had to invent all technologies from scratch (or at least from what aeronautics could contribute as point of departure), and

Faster, Better, Cheaper

The missions flown under NASAs Faster, Better, Cheaper (FBC) drive initiated during the tenure of NASA Administrator D.S. Goldin 1992–2001 were not fully requirements-driven designs and accepted a very modest measure of risk. Both these properties were a paradigm-shifting change from policies in effect since the mid-1960s which strove for minimum risk flagship missions carrying cutting-edge science, a trend initiated by the scathing reviews and investigations of the Ranger program. Although

Conclusion

Delayed only 3 days by weather, the small asteroid lander MASCOT was launched aboard the Japanese Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission on December 3rd, 2014, 04:22 UT, within the first interplanetary launch window. MASCOT was a fast paced high performance prototype project, developed under demanding constraints of volume, mass, available personnel, budget, and accessible infrastructures, to a timely defined deadline of a celestially fixed launch date. With a model philosophy tailored ‘live’

Acknowledgments

MASCOT was developed and built under the leadership of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with contributions from the French Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The authors would like to acknowledge the significant contributions from all members of the MASCOT Project Team as well as the Hayabusa2 Project Team.

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