NASA wants Pushing a spacecraft the size of a shoebox to me asteroid Using a solar sail, it is the first deep space mission by the agency to use such a mechanism.
the Near-Earth Asteroid Scouts (NEA Scout) is small A craft called CubeSat, and It will be one of 10 minor payloads on the upcoming Artemis I uncrewed test flight (currently scheduled for March 2022). The satellite is only the size of a shoebox, but the reflective sail that will carry it through space unfolds 925 square feet. Gas thrusters will put the CubeSat on the path of the nearby asteroid target, but the solar sail will do the thrust for the rest of the two-year journey.
Solar sails harness the momentum of the Sun’s photons to propel spacecraft forward. Because rocket fuel is a big worker From the weight of the spacecraft and its age in space, it is helpful to need as little of it as possible. The larger the solar sail, the more sunlight the vehicle can capture. By changing the position of the sail to Sunlight angle, NEA Scout can change its path.
The detector will head to an asteroid called 2020 GE, which was first seen in March 2020 (hence its name.) The asteroid is less than 60 feet wide, and because the size of asteroids has not been explored closely before, it is resea greats targeting. Small rocks can have harmful effects if they hit the ground, Like the Chelyabinsk meteorite in 2013.
“Although large asteroids are of most concern from a planetary defense perspective, objects like 2020 GE are more common and, despite their small size, might pose a threat to our planet,” said Julie Castillo-Rogues, principal science researcher at the US Nuclear Energy Agency. “. An expedition mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement released by the agency. “2020 GE represents a class of asteroids that we currently know very little regarding.”
CubeSat has a camera on board to collect information regarding Makeup, Volume and Features 2020 GE. It might be a solid rock, or a fusion of dusty and small rocks lumped together, like an asteroid. Determine. Asteroids are still a point of interest for NASA; Lucy’s mission to study Trojan asteroids on Jupiter Launched in October 2021 Psyche . has been assigned a task to launch this August.
Aside from asteroids, NEA’s scouts are also paving the way for two more solar sails. Missions: Advanced solar sail system installed, which will not be launched before mid-2022, NASA expects NASA, and the solar cruiser, which will be heading towards The sun in 2025 with A huge sail with an area of 18,000 square feet. The future of space sailing technology is bright.
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