June 2017
Automated or human-operated systems?
... and imagination. System reliability is essential to the success of a mission but the external environment is a source of continuous discovery and surprises – otherwise why would we call it ‘exploration? – and to cope with this the system requires...
July 2018
The rise of interplanetary CubeSats
... less than 50 m/s delta-v to perform minor course corrections as it is dropped off on a flyby trajectory to Mars. Science and exploration missions are possible with flybys, as in the recent Deep Horizons flyby of Pluto. However, in the inner solar...
June 2019
The challenge of planetary protection
... made recommendations on the Phobos/Deimos sample return categorisation regarding the International JAXA-led Martian Moons eXploration mission (MMX). This is an ambitious project that will travel to Mars and survey the red planet’s two moons...
July 2019
A reluctant American hero
... new awareness of the environmental issues for Earth from the late 1960s, stemming from the Apollo exploration missions. Seeing Earth from the Moon in the Apollo 11 photos was a powerful message and Apollo 8’s Bill Anders...
January 2020
Small body missions unveil interplanetary secrets
... much further out, so perhaps Ceres is a Kuiper belt object. Two missions currently under development will also address small body migration concepts. JAXA’s Martian Moons Exploration mission (MMX) will go to the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos...
February 2020
Europe’s role in space standardisation
... standards will be the key issue as we introduce autonomous vehicles to Europe’s road networks. Data from ESA’s Earth Explorer missions address scientific questions that help predict the effects of climate change and address scientific questions that...
