Open AccessScience benefits of onboard spacecraft navigation
Author(s) -
Cangahuala Al,
Bhaskaran Shyam,
Owen Bill
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2012eo180001
Subject(s) - spacecraft , trajectory , astrobiology , asteroid , aerospace engineering , computer science , field (mathematics) , spacecraft design , astrometry , solar system , remote sensing , environmental science , physics , astronomy , engineering , computer vision , geology , stars , mathematics , pure mathematics
Primitive bodies (asteroids and comets), which have remained relatively unaltered since their formation, are important targets for scientific missions that seek to understand the evolution of the solar system. Often the first step is to fly by these bodies with robotic spacecraft. The key to maximizing data returns from these flybys is to determine the spacecraft trajectory relative to the target body—in short, navigate the spacecraft—with sufficient accuracy so that the target is guaranteed to be in the instruments' field of view. The most powerful navigation data in these scenarios are images taken by the spacecraft of the target against a known star field (onboard astrometry).