CubeSat tandem flight for asteroid surveillance

Vít Pomahać; René Hudec; Thorsten Döhring

doi:10.1117/12.2672396

7 June 2023 CubeSat tandem flight for asteroid surveillance

Vít Pomahać, René Hudec, Thorsten Döhring

Proceedings Volume 12576, EUV and X-ray Optics: Synergy between Laboratory and Space VIII; 125760H (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672396
Event: SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics, 2023, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

Conventional mining might not be sufficient to support the growth of humankind which is heavily dependent upon rare materials in technical applications. Asteroid mining might be an answer, with Near-Earth objects (NEOs) being the first targets. However, the first step in the asteroid mining cascade is to probe reachable asteroids. Moreover, to identify the best candidates for further activities hundreds to thousands of asteroids must be screened. The fast progressing development of CubeSats might allow the space community to do the initial in-situ screening in a minimalistical and economical manner. Additionally, formation flying might enable the miniaturization of optical payloads for asteroid composition analysis in CubeSats. The recent developments in formation flying are summarised in this study and the possibility of utilizing formation flying CubeSats for asteroid surveillance explored.

Citation Download Citation

Vít Pomahać, René Hudec, and Thorsten Döhring "CubeSat tandem flight for asteroid surveillance", Proc. SPIE 12576, EUV and X-ray Optics: Synergy between Laboratory and Space VIII, 125760H (7 June 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672396

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