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The Deep Space 1 mission is
the first New Millennium mission to test advanced technologies. The
testing will take the spacecraft past an asteroid, a comet and Mars.
The mission will test solar electric ion propulsion engines, and use
autonomous optical navigation. The instrumentation will include a
miniature camera and imaging spectrometer, as well as an ion and
electron spectrometer. The science objectives of the asteroid flyby
include measurement of basic physical properties, and examination of
the solar wind-asteroid interaction. Likewise, the basic physical
parameters will be measured for comet P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura, while in
addition studying the relationship of the surface features to the
jets. Prior to arriving at the comet, the spacecraft will get a
gravity assist from Mars, while at the same time studying the surface
and atmosphere of Mars.
Recently, the mission launch was delayed from July 1998 to Oct 1998 because
the mission was behind schedule. New targets will have to be selected,
and it is unlikely that it will be able to go by a comet.
Mission Timeline
- 1998 Oct - Launch (Delayed)
- 1999 Jan - 3352 McAuliffe close flyby
- 2000 Apr - Mars flyby
- 2000 Jun - P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura close approach
- 2000 Jul - end of primary mission
IRTF Mission Support
- Frequent astrometric measurements will be required of the targets
to ensure that the orbits are extremely well known for the close approaches.
- Knowledge of the nucleus/asteroid sizes and rotation are needed to
plan the photographic aspects of the mission, as well as to estimate the
gravity field. The IRTF is ideally suited for obtaining nucleus parameters,
such as size, albedo and rotation.
- Excellent models of the dust environment of P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura
will be needed to allow for proper protection of the spacecraft.
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