Attitude Control of Spacecraft Swarms for Visual Mapping of Planetary Bodies

TL;DR

This paper proposes a spacecraft swarm approach for complete surface mapping of planetary bodies during flybys, utilizing an automated design tool to optimize swarm configurations for missions like asteroid 433 Eros.

Contribution

It introduces the IDEAS software's Automated Swarm Designer module for designing spacecraft swarms aimed at planetary surface mapping during flybys.

Findings

Successful application to asteroid 433 Eros surface mapping

Development of automated swarm design methodology

Enhanced coverage during planetary flyby missions

Abstract

Planetary bodies such as asteroids, comets, and planetary moons are high-value science targets as they hold important information about the formation and evolution of our solar system. However, due to their low-gravity, variable sizes and shapes, dedicated orbiting spacecraft missions around these target bodies is difficult. Therefore, many planetary bodies are observed during flyby encounters, and consequently, the mapping coverage of the target body is limited. In this work, we propose the use of a spacecraft swarm to provide complete surface maps of a planetary body during a close encounter flyby. With the advancement of low-cost spacecraft technology, such a swarm can be realized by using multiple miniature spacecraft. The design of a swarm mission is a complex multi-disciplinary problem. To get started, we propose the Integrated Design Engineering & Automation of Swarms (IDEAS) software. In this work, we will introduce the development of the Automated Swarm Designer module of the software and apply it to total surface mapping of asteroid 433 Eros through flybys.