Lunar Impactor: Investigating lunar magnetism and swirls with a cubesat
Abstract
Magnetized 100-km-scale patches of the lunar crust were first observed by the Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellites. Despite several decades of study, the origin of these magnetic "anomalies" remains unknown. Part of the difficulty in determining the origin of these features has been the relatively high altitude of orbiting lunar spacecraft. Ideally, one would send a rover to measure the surface magnetic field, but the costs are prohibitive. Instead, small spacecraft can be sent on low-angle impact-trajectories into the hearts of these features. The spacecraft transmit measurements to the Earth in real-time, until the last milliseconds, enabling measurements at < 100 m altitude. To perform this mission, we have designed a fully-independent 3U cubesat capable of reaching the Moon from geosynchronous orbit. We will describe the mission science, the cubesat design, and a magnetometer for making high-frequency magnetic field measurements.
- Publication:
-
European Planetary Science Congress
- Pub Date:
- September 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013EPSC....8.1081G