Though the Pony Specific lasted solely a short while within the mid-1800s earlier than being outperformed by the transcontinental telegraph, it impressed an idea for a string of small satellites to move knowledge from Mars to Earth and assist alleviate the info logjam at the moment occurring within the Deep Area Community.
“The Photo voltaic System Pony Specific is a mission idea that goals to enhance the info transmission capabilities of the Deep Area Community utilizing the concept of knowledge mules,” mentioned Robyn Woollands, assistant professor within the Division of Aerospace Engineering on the College of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Woollands described the info mules as small spacecraft that may journey to a remote location, similar to Mars, the place they purchase knowledge in shut vary to the probe’s transmitter, then carry the info again to Earth the place it’s downlinked in shut vary to the receiver. This allows excessive latency and excessive bandwidth communication.
“A community of interplanetary knowledge mules might be established utilizing cycler orbits,” Woollands mentioned. “After launch, the info mules use their very own low-thrust propulsion system to inject right into a cycler orbit and goal subsequent flybys of Earth and Mars.”
Woollands defined that the trajectories encounter two or extra celestial bodies alongside their path and require a modest quantity of propellant for correction maneuvers. After launch, the info mules use their very own low-thrust propulsion system to inject right into a cycler orbit and goal subsequent flybys of Earth and Mars.
“In the course of the Mars flybys, knowledge is uplinked from spacecraft already working at Mars—on orbit or on the floor—and through Earth flybys knowledge is downlinked again to Earth,” mentioned Woollands.
She mentioned her Ph.D. pupil Alex Pascarella developed the instruments to allow the trajectory design and optimization of Earth/Mars cycler orbits for the Photo voltaic System Pony Specific mission.
“We simulate trajectories that make use of low-thrust propulsion and embrace a high-fidelity mannequin that comes with the gravity of the Solar, Earth and Mars”, mentioned Pascarella.
Low-thrust space missions have gotten extra widespread because of the advantages afforded by ion engines, that are extra environment friendly than chemical engines. They’re additionally smaller/lighter which permits for the design of smaller spacecraft that may be launched economically as a secondary payload.
“Our examine revealed that the total data quantity returned throughout the simulated mission exceeded our aim of 1 Petabit per 12 months,” mentioned Alex Pascarella, Robyn Woollands’ Ph.D. pupil.
The examine is revealed within the journal Acta Astronautica.
Photo voltaic System Pony Specific is a NASA Revolutionary Superior Idea undertaking led by Joshua Vander Hook at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Extra data:
Alex Pascarella et al, Low-thrust trajectory optimization for the solar system pony categorical, Acta Astronautica (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2022.11.046
Quotation:
New analysis fashions idea for knowledge transport utilizing practice of satellites (2023, February 23)
retrieved 23 February 2023
from https://phys.org/information/2023-02-concept-satellites.html
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