Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: Bob Shaw Jan 16 2007, 10:12 PM

http://www.ballaerospace.com/media/nr01_08_07.html

"Ebbets presents "Small Landing Probes for In-Situ Characterization of Asteroids and Comets" poster at AAS

Boulder, Colo., Jan. 7, 2007 – The 2007 American Astronomical Society’s annual meeting in Seattle, Jan 5-10, will include a poster presentation depicting a small landing probe design developed by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. The poster will be presented by Dennis Ebbets, Senior Business Development Manager for Ball Aerospace’s Space Science division in Boulder, CO, beginning at 9:20 a.m. (PST) on Jan. 7.

Led by Staff Consultant Richard Reinert and Ball’s Deputy Director for Solar System Advanced Systems Rich Dissly, Ball Aerospace has a developed a landing probe design concept that would enable characterization of both the surface and interior of small solar system objects, such as asteroids and comets, as part of future space missions to such targets.

“The basic probe designed by Ball Aerospace could become a low-cost component of future missions that would enable a rich spectrum of in-situ investigations to a large number of target bodies,” said Ebbets. “In many cases more than one probe may be desired to sample different regions or to work together as a network of sensors.”

The probe design is roughly the size of a basketball, allowing for several to be carried by a rendezvous spacecraft and deployed individually. They are intended to survive a freefall to the surface, impacting with a velocity of only a few meters/second. Deployable panels on the nominally spherical body are designed to ensure self-righting to an operational orientation.

Each probe could accommodate a payload of several kilograms, optimized for its particular investigation. Candidates include imagers, accelerometers, X-Ray spectrometers, sample collection and examination mechanisms, and possibly pyrotechnic charges for seismic excitation or cratering experiments. The probe provides a standard suite of services such as battery power, data management and communications with the rendezvous spacecraft. Ball Aerospace is also studying options for mobility, such as “hopping”, and for anchoring to the surface of a micro-gravity body. "


Bob Shaw

Posted by: dvandorn Jan 17 2007, 08:43 PM

Looks a lot like Luna 9 (or Mars 3, for that matter), doesn't it?

-the other Doug

Posted by: Myran Jan 17 2007, 10:26 PM

My thought also, it will make possible for the probe to align itself upright when deploying. That in all cases but when its really have ended up exactly upside down - but if its bottom heavy it should be possible to avoid that. But its a smart design, so im not all suprised the idea have been 'borrowed'. :

Posted by: Bob Shaw Jan 17 2007, 11:57 PM

The same basic layout was proposed for the Advanced Mariner rough Mars-lander in the early 60s (discussed here on UMSF about a year ago) so it's perhaps not even an idea which has had to be borrowed, but was instead an idea waiting to happen.


Bob Shaw

Posted by: ynyralmaen Jan 18 2007, 08:00 AM

... and the Mars-96 "small stations":
http://www.iki.rssi.ru/mars96/08_mars_e.htm

Posted by: edstrick Jan 18 2007, 11:43 AM

There were similar capsules studied for "block 4" or other Ranger missions of a similar design, as well as (I think) the Gulliver "sticky-string" Mars biology lander. (Shoot popgun like bullet out with a trailing sticky string, reel string into biology growth chamber. Idiotically simple, at least in concept, good for a hard lander.)

Posted by: Steffen Jan 19 2007, 11:54 AM

Soviet-Russian like petals anyway