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EP: Fachverband Extraterrestrische Physik
EP 7: Planets and Small Bodies III
EP 7.1: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 2. April 2025, 11:00–11:15, ZHG005
Collecting a regolith sample from a near-Earth asteroid (NEA): A very fast sample return mission opportunity — •Martin Hilchenbach1, Thorsten Kleine1, Bastian Gundlach2, Jens Biele3, Stephan Ulamec3, Tra-Mi Ho4, Jan Thimo Grundmann4, Carsten Güttler3, Markus Patzek3, Moritz Goldmann3, Oliver Stenzel1, Christian Renggli1, Norbert Krupp1, and Matthias Noeker1 for the APOSSUM collaboration — 1Max-Planck-Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany — 2Universität Münster, Institut für Planetologie, Münster, Germany — 3Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR-MUSC), Cologne, Germany — 4Institute of Space Systems (DLR), Bremen, Germany
The close flyby of asteroid (99942) Apophis would offer a unique opportunity to collect and return a regolith sample. The European Space Agency (ESA) is currently exploring the possibility within the RAMSES mission study to observe Apophis before its closest approach to Earth on Friday, April 13, 2029. We present the findings of our concurrent engineering (CE) studies evaluating the feasibility of a sample return capsule, named APOphiS SUrface saMpler (APOSSUM). The APOSSUM design envisions a detached, touch-and-go mission with semi-autonomous navigation and thruster-based control, collecting regolith using rotating brushes. By mid-March 2029, the capsule would be guided towards Earth, with a velocity offset of only a few tens of meters per second relative to the asteroid.
Keywords: sample return; near-Earth asteroids; design study; fast mission; Apophis