Small Celestial Body Exploration with CubeSat Swarms

TL;DR

This paper investigates the use of large CubeSat swarms for interplanetary exploration of small celestial bodies, focusing on deployment, operation, and internal structure reconstruction through advanced simulation techniques.

Contribution

It introduces a large-scale simulation framework for deploying CubeSat swarms in deep space missions, highlighting their capability to analyze internal mass distribution and gravity signals.

Findings

Large swarms can effectively capture gravity signals.

Simulation results demonstrate feasibility of internal structure reconstruction.

Approach minimizes collision risks and Delta V requirements.

Abstract

This work presents a large-scale simulation study investigating the deployment and operation of distributed swarms of CubeSats for interplanetary missions to small celestial bodies. Utilizing Taylor numerical integration and advanced collision detection techniques, we explore the potential of large CubeSat swarms in capturing gravity signals and reconstructing the internal mass distribution of a small celestial body while minimizing risks and Delta V budget. Our results offer insight into the applicability of this approach for future deep space exploration missions.