Scientists hope to land spacecraft on asteroid

Published on Friday 19 September 2008 22:16

EUROPEAN scientists are hoping to land a spacecraft on an asteroid to help research into the origins of Earth. Known as Marco Polo, the mission, run by scientists and engineers could take place in the next ten years.

The aim would be to bring back material from an asteroid to learn more about how our solar system developed.

A small asteroid – less than a mile across – would be selected near Earth. A spacecraft would land and drill for dust and rubble.

Satellite manufacturers Astrium in the UK and OHB in Germany are undertaking a study to assess the type of spacecraft that would be needed to carry out the project.

Dr Ralph Cordey from Astrium said: "We've got to look at all elements of the mission – how we would design the mission, how to design the trajectory to one of a number of possible asteroids, how to optimise that so we use the smallest spacecraft, the least fuel and the smallest rocket."

Professor Andrew Collier Cameron, an astronomer from the University of St Andrews, said the venture could help solve the mystery of the origins of planets like Earth.

"Getting samples is very, very important," said Prof Collier Cameron. "It gives us a sample of primordial material left over from the time when the solar system was formed."

Asteroids are lumps of debris left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago.

They can provide pristine material to help scientists find out how planets could evolve from dust particles that built up to form gravel-like rocks.

A final decision on whether to approve the mission will be made by the European Space Agency (ESA) in a few years.

If approved, the mission would launch in about 2017.

The mission could provide considerable challenges. If the spacecraft does not approach the asteroid correctly, it could be damaged or could bounce back off into space.

It is expected that up 300g of dust and pebbles could be stored in a sealed capsule in the probe. It would release the capsule close to Earth for a re-entry.

After it landed, the capsule would be opened in a clean facility to make sure there was no contamination of the samples.

ESA has an exploration roadmap for the missions it wishes to conduct in the coming years. Marco Polo is being considered under its Cosmic Visions programme, and is one of a number of competing ideas in a class of missions that could cost in the region of 300 million (238 million).

Such a mission could help develop the technology needed for the more challenging task of landing on and leaving a planet that has a much bigger gravitational pull, such as Mars.

BACKGROUND

THE Japanese recently attempted to grab samples off the surface of Asteroid Itokawa.

However, it is still not clear whether the spacecraft managed to capture any material. The probe is due to return to Earth in 2010.

The Americans gathered information about Asteroid Eros with their NEAR Shoemaker probe, which orbited close to the asteroid to collect data in 2000.

They have also sent the Dawn spacecraft to rendezvous with Asteroid Vesta in 2011 before going on to visit Asteroid Ceres in 2015.

Europe's Rosetta probe, which is en route to a comet, took close-up pictures of Asteroid Steins during a flyby earlier this month.

Ultimately, it is possible that astronauts could visit an asteroid. The US space agency is currently studying how this might be done.