An interstellar probe mission to the boundaries of the heliosphere and nearby interstellar space

Abstract

Abstract. NASA's Interstellar Probe Mission, which will travel to 200-400 AU using solar sail propulsion, will be the first spacecraft specifically designed to explore the outer solar system and sample the nearby interstellar medium. During the spring of 1999, NASA's Interstellar Probe Science and Technology Definition Team * developed a concept for a mission to be propelled by a solar sail that would travel to >200 AU in 15 years. A 400-m diameter solar sail accelerates the spacecraft to ~15 AU/year, approximately 5 times the speed of the Voyager spacecraft. After jettisoning the sail, the spacecraft coasts to 200-400 AU, exploring the Kuiper Belt, the boundaries of the heliosphere, and the nearby interstellar medium. We discuss the scientific goals, mission concept, strawman payload, and technology requirements for this very challenging mission.

Noise analysis for X-ray navigation systems

“…13. The local interstellar neighborhood, shown on a logarithmic scale from the sun to 10 6 AU [28]. XNAV can provide significant improvement over DSN-only navigation at distances beyond Jupiter.…”

“…A mission to investigate the Pioneer gravitational anomaly has been proposed, which would require accurate tracking of the spacecraft to distances far beyond Jupiter, measuring the acceleration of the spacecraft very precisely. XNAV could assist in providing more accurate navigation data than can be The Interstellar Probe mission would travel to a distance of about 400 AU from the Sun, exploring the Kuiper Belt, the boundaries of the heliosphere, and nearby interstellar medium [28]. The 550 AU mission to study the gravitational lens effect of the sun is indicated in the figure ("Gravity Lens" label) [29].…”

“…Very deep space includes missions to Jupiter and beyond, but focuses on missions and mission concepts well beyond Jupiter. For example: [28,29] -Pioneer Anomaly Investigation -Interstellar Probe (Solar System Bow Shock…”

The dynamics and control of the CubeSail mission: A solar sailing demonstration

“…The last two decades have seen an increased interest in utilizing the benefits of solar sailing and several missions have been designed specifically for its use. These include missions that provide early detection and warning of solar events (Heliostorm) 9 , missions to conduct detailed analysis of helioseismology and heliomagnetism (Solar Polar Imager) 10 , or mission to explore our local galactic neighborhood beyond the heliopause (Interstellar Probe) 11 .…”

Mission Design for the Innovative Interstellar Explorer Vision Mission

“…Past concepts for such a mission have included the use of near-Sun powered gravity assists, with both chemical 6 and advanced high-thrust systems 9,10,11,12,13,14,15 , nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) 2,3,4,16,17 , and solar sails 18,19 . In this work, we detail the mission design studies for such a mission, dubbed the Innovative Interstellar Explorer (IIE) using radioisotope electric propulsion (REP) 20 .…”