ESA F-Class Comet Interceptor: Trajectory design to intercept a yet-to-be-discovered comet

Sánchez, Juan; Morante, David; Hermosin, Pablo; Ranuschio, Daniel; Estalella, Alvaro; Viera, Dayana; Centuori, Simone; Jones, G. H.; Snodgrass, C.; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny Chantal; Tubiana, C.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.07.014

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(25 reference statements)

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“…Recently, the European Space Agency selected the Comet Interceptor (Jones 2019) to launch in 2029. The Interceptor has a low ∆V ∼ 1 km s −1 budget and can only reach objects whose orbits bring them fortuitously close to its loitering location at L2 within the 3 year duration of its mission (Sánchez et al 2021). With these mission parameters, the likelihood that Interceptor will find an accessible interstellar target is negligible (c.f.…”

Section: Space Basedmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interstellar Interlopers

Jewitt¹,

Seligman²

2022

Preprint

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Interstellar interlopers are bodies formed outside of the solar system but observed passing through it. The first two identified interlopers, 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, exhibited unexpectedly different physical properties. 1I/'Oumuamua appeared unresolved and asteroid-like whereas 2I/Borisov was a more comet-like source of both gas and dust. Both objects moved under the action of non-gravitational acceleration. These interlopers and their divergent properties provide our only window so far onto an enormous and previously unknown galactic population. The number density of such objects is ∼ 0.1 AU −3 which, if uniform across the galactic disk, would imply 10 25 to 10 26 similar objects in the Milky Way. The interlopers likely formed in, and were ejected from, the protoplanetary disks of young stars. However, we currently possess too little data to firmly reject other explanations.

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Section: Space Basedmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Interstellar Interlopers

Jewitt¹,

Seligman²

2022

Preprint

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“…In addition, the forthcoming NEO Surveyor (Mainzer et al 2015) may also detect interstellar objects, and could offer information about outgassing sources via its infrared capabilities. Space-based in situ measurements of an interstellar object would provide valuable information regarding the composition and bulk properties (Hein et al 2017;Seligman & Laughlin 2018;Castillo-Rogez et al 2019;Meech et al 2019Meech et al , 2021Hibberd et al 2020Hibberd et al , 2022Donitz et al 2021;Moore et al 2021aMoore et al , 2021bPau Sánchez et al 2021). Additionally, future observations of the amplitude variations (if any) of interstellar objects may be used to constrain their viscosities-and may be able to constrain composition-via the techniques developed in this paper.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical Simulations of Tidal Deformation and Resulting Light Curves of Small Bodies: Material Constraints of 99942 Apophis and 1I/‘Oumuamua

et al. 2023

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In this paper, we present an open-source software (Simulator of Asteroid Malformation Under Stress, SAMUS) that simulates constant-density, constant-viscosity liquid bodies subject to tidal forces for a range of assumed viscosities and sizes. This software solves the Navier–Stokes equations on a finite-element mesh, incorporating the centrifugal, Coriolis, self-gravitational, and tidal forces. The primary functionality is to simulate the deformation of minor bodies under the influence of tidal forces. It may therefore be used to constrain the composition and physical structure of bodies experiencing significant tidal forces, such as 99942 Apophis and 1I/‘Oumuamua. We demonstrate that SAMUS will be useful to constrain the material properties of Apophis during its near-Earth flyby in 2029. Depending on the material properties, Apophis may experience an area change of up to 0.5%, with similar effects on the photometric brightness. We also apply SAMUS to constrain the material dynamic viscosity of 1I/‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered traversing the inner solar system. ‘Oumuamua experienced a close approach to the Sun at perihelion (q ≃ 0.25 au) during which there were significant tidal forces that may have caused deformation of the body. This deformation could have lead to observable changes in the photometric light curve based on the material properties. The application of SAMUS to produce synthetic observations which incorporate tidal deformation effects demonstrates that no deformation—an infinite dynamic viscosity—best reproduces the photometric data. While these results indicate that ‘Oumuamua did not experience significant tidal deformation, a sophisticated model incorporating nonprincipal axis rotation is necessary to conclusively analyze both ‘Oumuamua and Apophis.

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“…The number of possible targets will depend on the capability of the spacecraft (specifically, the maximum possible change of velocity, ∆v, achievable by its propulsion system and available fuel), the length of time that the mission is prepared to wait, and the amount of warning time available for optimized transfer trajectories. Simulations suggest a high probability of a suitable target being reached within the nominal 6-year lifetime of the mission (Sánchez et al 2021). Should no LPC target be found within an acceptable mission lifetime, Comet Interceptor will instead be sent to encounter one of 8 possible backup targets (known JFCs; Schwamb et al 2020), which will not achieve the primary mission goal of exploring a pristine surface, but are interesting in their own right (including comets thought to be at the end of their lifetimes, and either almost dormant -289P/Blanpain -or disintegrating via multiple fragmentation events -73P).…”

Section: Comet Interceptormentioning

confidence: 99%

Past and Future Comet Missions

Snodgrass¹,

Feaga²,

Jones³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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We review the history of spacecraft encounters with comets, concentrating on those that took place in the recent past, since the publication of the Comets II book. This includes the flyby missions Stardust and Deep Impact, and their respective extended missions, the Rosetta rendezvous mission, and serendipitous encounters. While results from all of these missions can be found throughout this book, this chapter focuses on the questions that motivated each mission, the technologies that were required to answer these questions, and where each mission opened new areas to investigate. There remain a large number of questions that will require future technologies and space missions to answer; we also describe planned next steps and routes forward that may be pursued by missions that have yet to be selected, and eventually lead to cryogenic sample return of nucleus ices for laboratory study.

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ESA F-Class Comet Interceptor: Trajectory design to intercept a yet-to-be-discovered comet

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

The Interstellar Interlopers

The Interstellar Interlopers

Numerical Simulations of Tidal Deformation and Resulting Light Curves of Small Bodies: Material Constraints of 99942 Apophis and 1I/‘Oumuamua

Past and Future Comet Missions

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