The High Inclination Solar Mission (HISM)
Abstract
The High Inclination Solar Mission (HISM) is an out-of-the-ecliptic solar sail mission concept for observing the Sun and the heliosphere. The mission profile is based on the Solar Polar Imager concept: initially spiraling in to a 0.48 AU ecliptic orbit, then increasing the orbital inclination at a rate of up to 10° degrees per year, ultimately reaching a heliographic inclination of >75°. The orbital profile is achieved using solar sails based on the sail design for the Solar Cruiser mission, currently in Phase-A study at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
An initial instrument complement was assumed for the study, consisting of a combination of remote, in-situ, and plasma wave instruments with a total mass of 66 kg. These provide a comprehensive suite of instruments to study the solar polar regions and connections to the heliosphere. The 7,000 m2 sail used in the mission assessment is a direct extension of the 4-quadrant 1,666 m2 Solar Cruiser design and employs the same type of high strength composite boom, deployment mechanism, and membrane technology. The sail system modeled is spun (~1 rpm) to assure required boom characteristics with margin. The spacecraft bus features a fine-pointing 3-axis stabilized instrument platform that allows full science observations as soon as the spacecraft reaches a solar distance of 0.48 AU. The spacecraft provides 95W power to science instruments and 8 Gbit/day downlink capability.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMSH0110004K
- Keywords:
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- 7509 Corona;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7522 Helioseismology;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7524 Magnetic fields;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY;
- 7536 Solar activity cycle;
- SOLAR PHYSICS;
- ASTROPHYSICS;
- AND ASTRONOMY