Venus Observing System

Limaye, S. S.; Abedin, Nurul; Ao, C. O.; Bocanegra, Tatiana; Bullock, M. A.; Carrico, John P.; Cottini, V.; Curry, S.; Eckles, W.; Elston, Jack; Fry, P. M.; Gentry, Diana; Girija, Athul Pradeepkumar; Hayes, Alexander G.; Jindal, A.; Johnson, Natasha M.; Komerath, Narayan M.; Kovalenko, Irina; Kremic, Tibor; Lee, Yeon Joo; Lillis, R. J.; Luhmann, J. G.; Mathies, Richard A.; Pertzborn, R. A.; Raghav, Vrishank; Saikia, Sarag J.; Sasaki, Satoshi; Sharma, Shiv K.; Smith, David J.; Sokol, D.; Svítek, T.; Yoza, Brandon A.

doi:10.3847/25c2cfeb.7e1b0bf9

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…At Venus, the combination of Photon and aerocapture is also applicable to larger missions which have the Photon as a secondary payload cruise stage for independent small satellites [16], and for low-circular orbits required for atmospheric sample return missions [17]. At Mars, in addition to a technology demonstration, it could enable frequent low-cost orbiter missions at a much faster cadence than the current missions.…”

Section: Applications For Future Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 1 shows the enormous advantage offered by low-ballistic coefficient systems for Venus entry. The low-ballistic coefficient system and has applications for delivering independent small landers and orbiters to Venus [17], small satellites as part larger missions [18], and atmospheric sample return missions from the Venusian clouds [19].…”

Section: Venusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Examples include small standalone secondary ride-share payloads to Venus orbit, small satellites as part of large New Frontiers or Flagship missions [15], and missions to return atmospheric samples from the Venusian cloud layers [16].…”

Section: Venusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Small Low-Cost Orbiters for Planetary Science using Photon and Aerocapture

Pradeepkumar Girija

2023

Preprint

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With advancements in low-cost launchers and small interplanetary spacecraft, NASA has recognized the potential of small missions to perform focused planetary science investigations at Mars and Venus. The EscaPADE, part of the NASA SIMPLEx program will deliver two small spacecraft to elliptical orbits around Mars using the Photon spacecraft. Orbit insertion, particularly to low-circular orbits requires significant propellant, taking up a substantial fraction of the Photon wet mass and present a significant challenge for small missions. The large ΔV requirements for low-circular orbit make it difficult to insert small satellites into these orbits even with the highly capable Photon, as the total ΔV for Earth escape and orbit insertion exceeds its capability. Drag modulation aerocapture offers a promising alternative, using the atmospheric drag to obtain the large ΔV.The study shows how the Photon when combined with drag modulation aerocapture can deliver small orbiters to low-circular orbits, enabling a wide range of small orbiter missions. Aerocapture eliminates the need for Photon to provide 2 to 3.5 km/s of ΔV for orbit insertion, which translate into mass and cost savings, and can enable frequent low-cost small orbiters and small satellite constellations at Mars and Venus in the near future.

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Section: Applications For Future Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Venusmentioning

confidence: 99%