A Baseline Strategy for Mercury Exploration
Abstract
We discuss and provide some baseline strategy required for the robotic exploration missions to Mercury that includes the need to consider proper shielding of spacecraft to prevent damages from solar radiation, electrical-based maneuvering system against chemical propulsion and fuel exhaustion, enabling uninterrupted power supply for both electric maneuvering system and spacecraft power management via nuclear thermoelectric generators against solar array power production method, enabling laser-guided uninterrupted communication system against radio waves, and an approach to sustain thermal stability of the spacecraft required to manage fuel storage and onboard circuitry system. The results presented here are based on the experiences and challenges encountered by the past planetary probes. Finally, we discussed the prospect of spacecraft in exploring and gathering results of more scientific interest Mercury orbit.
- Publication:
-
Mercury Exploration Assessment Group
- Pub Date:
- February 2021
- Bibcode:
- 2021meag.conf.6005B
- Keywords:
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- Mercury;
- Mercury Exploration;
- Messenger;
- BepiColombo;
- Spacecrafts;
- Mission to Mercury