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Asteroid Rendezvous Missions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

D. F. Bender  and
R. D. Bourke
D. F. Bender
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
R. D. Bourke
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Extract

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The earliest flights to concentrate solely on the nature of particular asteroids will probably be of the simple flyby or rendezvous type. That is, data will be obtained by close investigation of these bodies without actually coming in contact with their surface. The technology of flyby missions to bodies at planetary distances is well established; there have been five successful Mariners to date and more flights are scheduled. Unfortunately, ballistic flyby missions suffer from the fact that the spacecraft is near the body of interest for a short period of time (relative velocities at asteroid encounters are 5 to 12 km/s). This problem is acute because spatial resolution of the onboard instruments must be very high, and typical flyby velocities will preclude detailed observations.

Type
Part III-Possible Space Missions and Future Work
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 12: Physical Studies of Minor Planets , 1971 , pp. 503 - 511
Copyright
Copyright © NASA 1971

References

Bartz, D. R., and Horsewood, J. L. 1969, Characteristics, Capabilities and Costs of Solar Electric Spacecraft for Planetary Missions. J. Spacecr. Rockets 6(12), 1379–1390.Google Scholar
Han, D. W., Johnson, F. I., and Itzen, B. F. 1969, Chebychev Trajectory Optimization Program. D2-121308-1 Final Rept. (NAS2-5185), The Boeing Co.Google Scholar