2011/02/24 by Karsten Schindler, Cristina A. Thomas, Vishnu Reddy +4 · 5 citations
Engineering · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Aerospace engineering #Asteroid #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrobiology #Astronomy #Characterization (materials science) #Computer science #Engineering #Geology #Geometry #Interplanetary spaceflight #Mathematics #Near-Earth object #Optics #Physics #Planetary Science and Exploration #Remote sensing #Rendezvous #Scientific instrument #Simulation #Space Satellite Systems and Control #Spacecraft #Surface (topology) #astro-ph.IM
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2011.01.012
published in Acta Astronautica 68(11-12), 1800-1810 (Elsevier BV) · 16 pages, 5 figures
openalex publication_date 2011/02/24 · arxiv created 2016/11/01 · arxiv updated 2016/11/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
This paper presents the results of a mission concept study for an autonomous micro-scale surface lander also referred to as PANIC - the Pico Autonomous Near-Earth Asteroid In Situ Characterizer. The lander is based on the shape of a regular tetrahedron with an edge length of 35 cm, has a total mass of approximately 12 kg and utilizes hopping as a locomotion mechanism in microgravity. PANIC houses four scientific instruments in its proposed baseline configuration which enable the in situ characterization of an asteroid. It is carried by an interplanetary probe to its target and released to the surface after rendezvous. Detailed estimates of all critical subsystem parameters were derived to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. The study illustrates that a small, simple landing element is a viable alternative to complex traditional lander concepts, adding a significant science return to any near-Earth asteroid (NEA) mission while meeting tight mass budget constraints.