MECO: Mission concept dEvelopment of a CubeSat for lunar Observation

Le résumé fourni par la source

The conceptualization of a mission for a CubeSat involves establishing both relevance and demand for the purpose, and a feasible technical foundation. Our mission concept development of a CubeSat for lunar observation (MECO) is focused on studying the effects of space weathering on airless planetary bodies by imaging the surface of the moon with a multispectral imager capable of capturing in the ultraviolet, infrared, and visible light spectra. Establishing a technical foundation for the mission and determining the foundations’ feasibility was accomplished through the evaluation of the mission definition. This paper focuses on the development of the mission definition which includes the mission overview, a concept of operations, and an experiment plan. The mission overview entails a mission statement, mission objectives, mission success criteria, and preliminary technical budgets and requirements. The findings of MECO’s technical budgets concluded the lack of feasibility to carry out the lunar mission on the CubeSats scale. The mission definition was re-evaluated twice, concluding on the third version of the mission. This paper highlights the conceptualization of a mission for a CubeSat through the application of iterative learning.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.