Star Tracker Focal Plane Evaluation for the JIMO Mission

Abstract

The Jupiter Icy Moon Orbiter (JIMO) mission 1 was planned as the first implementation of Prometheus, an ambitious space exploration project proposed by NASA. The mission would provide a rigorous scientific investigation of Jupiter and three of its moons Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa. To safely and efficiently power and maneuver the spacecraft in deep space, novel technologies would be incorporated. 12 Though launch is currently indefinitely postponed, this mission, as conceived, already presents a significant technical challenge for a robust Attitude Control System (ACS) design due to severe radiation environment of the Jovian system, and because navigation sensors must survive and function properly throughout the mission. It is particularly relevant to a spacecraft's ACS that relies on star trackers for an accurate attitude determination. A star tracker focal plane is very susceptible to impinging charged particles and cosmic gamma rays. The radiation will degrade the device performance through false signal appearance and increased noise.

A SLIC-DBSCAN Based Algorithm for Extracting Effective Sky Region from a Single Star Image

“…They produce linear interferences in the image plane due to relative velocity difference [ 10 ]. (2) Diffuse light of satellite facility or component [ 11 ] can enter the star tracker, causing regular-shaped interference. (3) In real night sky observation and calibration experiments, some interferences such as the thin clouds would inevitably enter the field of view of star tracker [ 12 ].…”