New Millennium Program

New Millennium Program (NMP) Andrew Foster

Deep Space Missions A Vision of the 21st Century Space Exploration
In the next century, to travel outside of the Solar sytem may still be too time consuming for the short life period of human beings. However the well developing high technologies and clever arrangement might bring in a new vision for the 21st Century Space Exploration.

Beside the expensive human flights, many scienttific studies inside the solar system, the Sun, the planets, the asteroids and comets, and other objectives
can be organized into a "Network" mission.

A single spacecraft might be able to release multiple (10 - 15?) landers or penetrators or some new form of sientific investigation units to a certain area in space.
And multiple simultaneous spacecrafts will be able to form a powerful "network".

This "network" will provide comprehensive studies of dynamic, complex phenomena.

To prepare such a new era of space exploration, to further create the fast, flexible, low cost and high efficiency access to space, new technologies will be critical.

New Millennium Program - Technology-validation Mission
The goal of the NMP is to identify and test advanced technologies that are needed in the 21st century space exploration.
Through a series of deep space and earth orbiting flights, NMP will demonstrate those promising but risky new technologies in space to prove that they work.
Once validated, the new technologies pose less of a risk to missions that would like to use them to achieve their scientific objectives.
During NMP flights, scientific data will also be returned as a dual goal for this program.

DS1, DS2 and EO1 missions are on the way.

DS1 - First Deep Space Mission

DS1 Spacecraft encounts Comet

With launch scheduled in July 1998 on a Delta-7326 rocket, the DS1 spacecraft will fly by and gather data about an asteroid, then Mars, and finally a comet.

Fly by Asteroid McAuliffe in Jan. 1999
DS1 will fly by near-Earth asteroid McAuliffe at just 5 - 10 km above the surface. - the smallest flyby distance of a celestial body accomplished by any spacecraft.
During the close flyby, DS1 will capture images, measure baasic physicaal properties such as mineral composition, dimensions, shape, surface features, and reflectivity; and search for changes in the solar wind as it interacts with the asteroid.
Like comets, asteroids are very difficult to observe from Earth as they ars so small and distant.

Pass by Mars in April 2000
In April 2000, a pass by Mars will be used for a gravity assist, transferring energy to DS1 to help speed it on the way to its comet encounter.
The flyby Mars provides another chance to test DS1's unique sceince instruments. The spacecraft may also encounter and image one of the two tiny moons of Mars, Phobos or Deimos.

Encounter Comet West-Kohoutek-Ikemura in June 2000
Comets are nearly invisible except when near the Sun, where a comet's solid nucleus changes from solid to gas without becoming liquid. Glowing dust and ion tails can extend millions of kilometers as the comet streaks by in its orbit.
Flying close to a speeding, luminous comet is a risk, but much can be learned.

DS1 will take close-up pictures of West-Kohoutek-Ikemura, determine the size and shape of the nucleus, and study the coma.

If all is well, DS1 will continue on in space, perhaps encounting other asteroid or comet.

Advanced Technology of DS1

Ion Thruster Solar Concentrator
Arrays

Autonomous Miniature Camera/
Navigational System Spectrometer

First NMP technology validation mission.

First close-up images of a comet.

Shortest flyby distance of any solar system body.

First use of high-performance, solar electric ion propulsion.
This is the first time in the history of solar system expolration that solar electric propulsion is used as the primary means of propelling a spacecraft toward its destination.
With electrical propulsion, we ionize to xenon and then electrically accerate it to a speed of ~30km/second. When the xenon ions are emitted at such a high speed, they push the spacecraft in the opposite direction.
The ion propulsion system will be powered by solar array panels .
Solar electric propulsion thus allows spacecraft to be lighter and less expensive, and to be launched on smaller, cheaper launch vehiles

First use of autonomous navigation in deep space.
DS1 will use an onboard, autonomous system to navigate to celestial bodies.
The system will make navigation decisions about spacecraft trajectory and targeting of celestial bodies with little assistance from Earth.
That means the spacecraft will guide itself to pinpoint and control when and where to encount a planet, moon, asteroid or comet . . .

To imagine a car driving itself across the United States from los Angeles tto Washington D.C., and parking itself in a designed space upon arrival - after having completed the entire trip on one tank of fuel.
That's the power of combining ion propulsion and autonomous navigation.

Other advanced tecnologies
Miniature camera/Spectrometer.
Experiment with "intelligent" power switch.
Microelectronics experiment to consume less power.
Diagnostics for the Ion Thruster.
Experimental "cable free" incooperation of microelectronics into spacecraft.
"Artificial Intelligence" software experiment.
Ka-band Radio Frequency experiment.
Spacecraft "health" monitoring experiment.
Instrument to measure Solar Wind and Comet Environments.
Beacon Monitoring Operations experiment.

DS2 - Second Deep Space Mission (Mars Microprobe)

Mars Microprobes riding
with MSP 98 Lander

Riding with MSP 98 Lander
During its journey to Mars , the two microrpobes will be attached to the Mars Surveyor 98 Lander (MSP 98 Lander), underneath the spacecraft's solar panels.

This ride to Mars for these two basketball-sized planetary penetrators cost
$2.8 million. However since they are too small to occupy a special spacecraft. they will be quite happy to take the ride with MSP 98 Lander.

Targeting Martian South Polar Ice cap

Microprobes targeting
Mars South Polar Ice Cap

After an 11 months cruise, the microprobes and MSP 98 Lander will arrive at Mars in Dec. 1999. They will be near the southern summer solstice.
The prime landing site of the Lander is located at the north most boundary of the Martian Polar Layered Terrain (PLT). ThePLT is of significant scientific interest due tto its role as a reservoir for water and other volatiles on Mars..

The Microprobe landing site will be just outside the permanent carbon deoxide south polar ice cap. It may impact anywhere 50 - 100 km from the Lander.

Just prior to atmosphere entry, the Lander will seperate from its cruise ring. The force of seperation will initiate mechanical pyro devices, which in turn will seperate the microprobes from the cruise ring about 18 seconds later.

Entry, Descent and Impact

Structure of Mars Microprobe

The microprobe entry, descent and impact system is single stage from atmosphere entry until impact.
The aeroshell uses an advanced ablative material, which can withstand temperature associated with heating rate up to 300 W/cm2. This aeroshall will maintain a constant aerodynamic shape and be carried to the surface. Upon impact the aeroshall will shatter leaving the aftbody clear for communications with the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft.

The microprobe is expected to hit the surface with an impact velocity of 160 to 200 m/s, an impact incidence angle < 25 degree, and an angle of attack < 12 degree.
Upon impact , the penetrator well seperate into a forebody and a aftbody. that are connected via a flexible cable system.

The forebody (weight > 900 gram) is expected to penetrate to a depth of 0.3 - 2 m for soil types that vary from frozen-soil to very loose fine-grained soil. The forebody must also withstand a peak rigid body shock of up to 30,000 G's. It will be buried in the soil and operate in temperature range from 0 to -120 oC .

The aftbody )weight >1050gram) will stay on the surface and withstand a peak rigid body shock of < 80,000 G's. The aftbody is designed to operate in temperature range from 0 to -80 oC.

Scientific Experiments
The forebody includes:
     - Microcontroller.
     - Power microeletronics.
     - Subsurface sample/water detection experiment.
     - Two temperature sensors.
     - Three axis impact accelerometer.

The Aftbody includes:
     - Two lithium batteries.
     - Microtelecommunication system (telecom-on-a-chip) with antenna.
     - Meteorological pressure sensor.
     - Descent accelerometer.
     - Sun detecttor.

Upon impact, 3 accelerometers will measure the deceleration of the forebody before it comes to rest in the soil. This data may provide clues to climate history if geological stratification or an ice layer is detected below the surface.
It will also show the depth of probe penetration.

Within minutes of impact, a micromotor will drive a small drill out of the side wall of the penetrator. Soil tailings from the drill will be pulled intto the water experiment sample cup.Collection of a subsurface soil sample is very important for future missions and the search for life on Mars.

The water experiment will be performed to detect the presence of subsurface ice. It will also characterize subsurface soil composition.

The probe will collect temperature, pressure, and Sun detection measurements every hour for at least the first 2 Martian days. It will continue until the probe battery is depleted (About 20 additional sols)

The data collected will be stored in the probes' microcontrollers until transmitting to MGS spacecraft. MGS will then relay the microprobe data to NASA's Deep Space Network on Earth.

EO1 - Earth Orbitor 1 Mission

Earth Orbitor 1

EO1 is an advanced land imaging mission that will demonstrate new instruments and spacecraft systems.
EO1 will be launched in the first half of 1999.

(More missions will coming)

DS 3 - Third Deep Space Mission
If approved by NASA, revolutional tecnologies will enable free-flying spacecraft to function as a space-based interferometer.

DS 4 - Fourth Deep Space Mission
If approved by NASA, for the first time, a spacecraft will land on a comet and retrieve a sample.

Recommended further reading books about Universe:
(You can buy these books here from Amazon, just click on the book's name.)

The 1997/1998 Ohio Almanac : An Encyclopedia of Indispensable Information About the Buckeye Universe (Serial): Michael O'Bryant (Editor), Jim Borgman (Illustrator) / Paperback / Published 1996
Achilles in the Quantum Universe : The Definitive History of Infinity ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Richard Morris / Hardcover / Published 1997
The Alchemy of the Heavens : Searching for Meaning in the Milky Way ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Ken Croswell, Philippe Van (Illustrator) / Paperback / Published 1996
Alexander A. Friedmann : The Man Who Made the Universe Expand ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Eduard A. Tropp, et al / Hardcover / Published 1993
All One Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Poul Anderson / Paperback / Published 1997
Ancient Light : Our Changing View of the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Alan Lightman / Paperback / Published 1993
Angels of the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Einar Mar Gumundsson, et al / Hardcover / Published 1997
Annikadel : The History of the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Istet Woiche, C. Hart Merriam (Editor) / Paperback / Published 1992
The Antimatter Universe (Choose Your Own Adventure, No 147) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Kate Mueller / Mass Market Paperback / Published 1994
The Architecture of the Jumping Universe : A Polemic : How Complexity Science Is Changing Architecture and Culture: Charles Jencks / Paperback / Published 1995
The Architecture of the Jumping Universe : A Polemic : How Complexity Science Is Changing Architecture and Culture ~ Usually ships in 24 hours: Charles Jencks / Paperback / Published 1997
Are We Alone? : Philosophical Implications of the Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Paul Davies / Paperback / Published 1996
Armchair Universe : An Exploration of Computer Worlds ~ Ships in 2-3 days: A. K. Dewdney / Paperback / Published 1988
The Artful Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: John D. Barrow / Hardcover / Published 1996
The Artful Universe : The Cosmic Source of Human Creativity ~ Ships in 2-3 days: John D. Barrow / Paperback / Published 1996
Astronomy : A Beginner's Guide to the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Eric Chaisson, Steve McMillan / Paperback / Published 1995
Astronomy : Structure of the Universe: A. E. Roy, D. Clarke / Paperback / Published 1989
Astronomy : The Evolving Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Michael Zeilik / Paperback / Published 1997

Astronomy for All Ages : Discovering the Universe Through Activities for Children and Adults ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Philip Harrington, et al / Paperback / Published 1994
Astronomy in Ancient Times (Isaac Asimov's New Library of the Universe) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Isaac Asimov, et al / Library Binding / Published 1995
Astronomy Projects (Isaac Asimov's New Library of the Universe): Frank Reddy, et al / Library Binding / Published 1996
Astronomy; The Evolving Universe, 7th ed.: Michael Zeilik / Paperback / Published 1993
At Home in the Universe : The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Stuart Kauffman / Hardcover / Published 1995
At Home in the Universe : The Search for Laws of Self-Organization and Complexity: Stuart Kauffman / Paperback / Published 1996
At Home in the Universe.: John A. Wheeler / Paperback / Published 1996
At the Heart of the Universe : The Eternal Plan of God ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Peter Jensen, Peter Jenson / Paperback / Published 1997
Before the Beginning : Our Universe and Others ~ Usually ships in 24 hours: Martin J. Rees / Hardcover / Published 1997
A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe : The Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Science ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Michael S. Schneider / Paperback / Published 1995
Beyond Einstein : The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Michio Kaku, Jennifer Thompson / Paperback / Published 1995
Big Bang ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Heather Couper, et al / Hardcover / Published 1997
Big Bang Never Happened ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Eric J. Lerner / Paperback / Published 1992
Big Book of Time : A Magical Adventure Through the Seconds, Seasons, and Light Years of the Universe (Big Book) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: William Edmonds, Helen Marsden (Illustrator) / Hardcover / Published 1994
The Biological Universe : The Twentieth-Century Extraterrestrial Life Debate and the Limits of Science ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Steven J. Dick / Hardcover / Published 1996
The Birth of Our Universe (Isaac Asimovs New Library of the Universe) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Greg Walz-Chojnacki, et al / Library Binding / Published 1995

Blind Watchers of the Sky : The People and Ideas That Shaped Our View of the Universe (Helix Books) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Rocky Kolb / Paperback / Published 1997
The Blind Watchmaker : Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Richard Dawkins / Paperback / Published 1996
A Brief History of Time : From the Big Bang to Black Holes ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Stephen W. Hawking / Paperback / Published 1993
Bubbles, Voids, and Bumps in Time : The New Cosmology ~ Usually ships in 24 hours: James Cornell (Editor) / Paperback / Published 1992
The Cambridge Lectures : Life Works: Stephen W. Hawking / Audio Cassette / Published 1996
Carl Sagan's Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Yervant Terzian (Editor), Elizabeth M. Bilson (Editor) / Paperback / Published 1997
Cartier (Universe of Design) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Philippe Tretiack / Hardcover / Published 1997

Chaos in the Cosmos : The Stunning Complexity of the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Barry R. Parker / Hardcover / Published 1996
Chaucer and the Universe of Learning: Ann W. Astell / Hardcover / Published 1996
Comets, Asteroids, and Meteorites (Voyage Through the Universe): Time-Life Books (Editor) / Hardcover / Published 1992
Coming of Age in the Milky Way ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Timothy Ferris / Paperback / Published 1989
Companion to the Cosmos ~ Ships in 2-3 days: John R. Gribbin, Geoffrey Kloske (Editor) / Hardcover / Published 1996
The Conscious Universe : The Scientific Truth of Psychic Phenomena ~ Usually ships in 24 hours: Dean I. Radin / Hardcover / Published 1997
Cosmic Debris : The Asteroids (Isaac Asimov's New Library of the Universe): Isaac Asimov, Greg Walz-Chojnacki / Library Binding / Published 1994
Cosmic Mysteries (Voyage Through the Universe): Hardcover / Published 1990
Cosmic Questions : Galactic Halos, Cold Dark Matter and the End of Time (Wiley Popular Science) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Richard Morris / Paperback / Published 1995
Cosmology ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Michael Rowan-Robinson / Paperback / Published 1996
Cosmology and Controversy : The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Helge Kragh / Hardcover / Published 1996
Cosmos : A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe (Foundations of Natural History) Vol 2 ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Alexander Von Humboldt, et al / Paperback / Published 1997
Cosmos : A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe (Foundations of Natural History) Vol 1 ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Alexander Von Humboldt, et al / Paperback / Published 1997

Asteroids, Comets, and Meteors (Vogt, Gregory. Gateway Solar System.) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Gregory Vogt / Library Binding / Published 1996
Can You Hitch a Ride on a Comet? (A Question of Science Book) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Sidney Rosen, et al / Library Binding / Published 1993
The Collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and Jupiter : Iau Colloquium 156 : Proceedings of the Space Telescope Science Institute Workshop, Held in balt: Keith S. Noll (Editor), et al / Hardcover / Published 1996
Comet ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan / Paperback / Published 1997
Comet Hale-Bopp : Find and Enjoy the Great Comet ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Robert Burnham / Paperback / Published 1997
Comet Hale-Bopp Book : Guide to an Awe-Inspiring Visitor from Deep Space (Frontiers in Astronomy and Earth Science) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Thomas Hockey / Paperback / Published 1996
Comet of the Century : From Halley to Halle-Bopp ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Fred Schaaf, Guy Ottewell (Illustrator) / Hardcover / Published 1996
Comets and Meteror Showers (True Books-Space) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Paul P. Sipiera, Paul B. Sipiera / School & Library Binding / Published 1997
Comets and Shooting Stars (Starry Sky) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Patrick Moore, Paul Doherty (Illustrator) / Library Binding / Published 1995
Comets and the Origin and Evolution of Life ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Paul J. Thomas (Editor), et al / Hardcover / Published 1996
Fire on Earth : Doomsday, Dinosaurs, and Humankind ~ Ships in 2-3 days: John R. Gribbin, Mary Gribbin / Paperback / Published 1997

Hazards Due to Comets and Asteroids (Space Science Series) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Tom Gehrels (Editor), et al / Hardcover / Published 1995
Impact! : The Threat of Comets and Asteroids ~ Ships in 2-3 days: Gerrit L. Verschuur / Hardcover / Published 1996
Rain of Iron and Ice : The Very Real Threat of Comet and Asteroid Bombardment (Helix Books) ~ Ships in 2-3 days: John S. Lewis / Paperback / Published 1997
The Comet Hale-Bopp Book, Guide to an Awe-Inspiring Visitor from Deep Space : Guide to an Awe-Inspiring Visitor from Deep Space (Frontiers in astronom Vol 1: Thomas A. Hockey / Hardcover / Published 1996

Comets and Asteroids (Davis, Amanda. Exploring Space.): Amanda Davis / Hardcover / Published 1997

The Origin of Comets: M.E. Bailey, et al / Hardcover / Published 1990

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