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Aerospace
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Spacecraft Sample Collection
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Spacecraft Sample Collection

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Astronautics & Space Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2025) | Viewed by 7776

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Brent J. Bos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Interests: spacecraft; asteroid; sample collection; spacecraft instrumentation; autonomous navigation; mission design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

On 24 September 2023, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully completed a seven-year mission to return to Earth a significant sample of the near-Earth asteroid (101955) Bennu. Also in recent years, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) returned samples to Earth of the near-Earth asteroid (162173) Ryugu and the Moon, respectively. These missions are just the latest examples of successful robotic planetary sampling missions that go back more than 50 years to when the former Soviet Union returned to Earth a total of several hundred grams of lunar material during the Luna program. But missions such as these are just the start. In the near-future, even more ambitious and difficult planetary sample return missions will be attempted. For instance, in September 2023, NASA released an independent review board report regarding its Mars sample return plan. This report highlighted the tremendous technical, cost and schedule challenges of such an endeavor as well as the tremendous scientific promise. 

For this Special Issue, we invite contributions that describe lessons learned from previous robotic sample return missions as well as recent technological advances to identify, collect and return samples from locations in both the inner and outer Solar System. Submission of papers that include (but are not limited to) descriptions of  mission design, trajectories, spacecraft architecture, back planetary protection, sampling techniques and hardware, spacecraft instrumentation, Earth entry systems, sample stowage and sample archiving is encouraged.

Dr. Brent J. Bos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • planetary sampling
  • sampling techniques and hardware
  • spacecraft instrumentation

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 7423 KiB  
Article
A High-Reliability Photoelectric Detection System for Mars Sample Return’s Orbiting Sample
by William F. Church, David Guzman-Garcia, Karina Bertelsmann, Victor A. Ruiz-Escribano, Cesar Ventura, Molly I. Jackson and Eric Waltman
Aerospace 2024, 11(10), 789; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11100789 - 24 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1309
Abstract
The Mars Sample Return campaign is an endeavor of unprecedented technological complexity and coordination that attempts to answer fundamental questions about the habitability of Mars by returning the first samples of Martian material to Earth for analysis. The third mission in the campaign [...] Read more.
The Mars Sample Return campaign is an endeavor of unprecedented technological complexity and coordination that attempts to answer fundamental questions about the habitability of Mars by returning the first samples of Martian material to Earth for analysis. The third mission in the campaign consists of the NASA-provided Capture, Containment, and Return System (CCRS) onboard the European Space Agency’s Earth Return Orbiter, which will retrieve the Orbiting Sample (OS) container from its orbit around Mars. Retrieving a passive sample container from a planetary orbit has never been attempted by any spacecraft and requires the development of new technology to succeed in this ambitious task. This paper introduces the high-reliability Capture Sensor Suite (CSS), a novel optical detection system that provides CCRS with the capability to autonomously detect the OS as it is captured. This article will discuss the challenges and requirements for the fault-tolerant design of the CSS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spacecraft Sample Collection)
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18 pages, 5196 KiB  
Article
Lessons Learned in Designing a Proposed Ultraviolet Sterilization System for Space
by David W. Hughes, Giuseppe Cataldo, Fernando A. Pellerano, Terra C. Hardwick, Frankie Micalizzi, Victor J. Chambers, Brian R. Bean, Berton J. Braley, William B. Cook, Ratna Day, Thomas J. Emmett, Clark D. Hovis, Stefan Ioana, Dillon E. Johnstone, Amandeep Kaur, Wendy M. Morgenstern, Nicholas M. Nicolaeff, Lawrence Ong, Len Seals, Richard G. Schnurr, Laurie L. Seide, George B. Shaw, Kevin A. Smith, Oscar Ta, William J. Thomes and Honam Yumadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Aerospace 2024, 11(7), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11070538 - 1 Jul 2024
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1887
Abstract
This paper presents a number of lessons learned while designing a proposed sterilization system for Mars Sample Return. This sterilization system is needed to inactivate any potentially hazardous Mars material on the exterior surface of the vessel containing sealed sample tubes filled with [...] Read more.
This paper presents a number of lessons learned while designing a proposed sterilization system for Mars Sample Return. This sterilization system is needed to inactivate any potentially hazardous Mars material on the exterior surface of the vessel containing sealed sample tubes filled with Mars rock cores, regolith and atmosphere. These returned samples would provide information on the geologic history of Mars, the evolution of its climate and the potential for ancient life. Mars Sample Return is categorized at Planetary Protection Category V Restricted Earth Return, so it is required to protect the Earth–Moon system from the biological impact of returning samples from Mars to Earth. This article reviews lessons learned in the development of a particular engineering implementation to support the protection of the Earth–Moon biosphere: the use of in situ ultraviolet LED illumination. The details of the biological efficacy of this approach or the policy-related impacts are outside of the scope of this manuscript. The lessons learned presented here include establishing design requirements for the system, the selection of a light source, optical design options, contamination control and approaches to thermal and power management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spacecraft Sample Collection)
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55 pages, 29220 KiB  
Article
Vision System for the Mars Sample Return Capture Containment and Return System (CCRS)
by Brent J. Bos, David L. Donovan, John I. Capone, Chen Wang, Terra C. Hardwick, Dylan E. Bell, Yuqing Zhu, Robert Podgurski, Bashar Rizk, Ireneusz Orlowski, Rachel A. Edison, David A. Harvey, Brianna Dizon, Lindsay Haseltine, Kristoffer C. Olsen, Chad Sheng, Robert R. Bousquet, Luan Q. Vo, Georgi T. Georgiev, Kristen A. Washington, Michael J. Singer, Stefan Ioana, Anloc H. Le, Elena M. Georgieva, Michael T. Hackett, Michael A. Ravine, Michael Caplinger, Phillip Coulter, Erin Percy, Charles Torisky, Jean-Marie Lauenstein, Kaitlyn L. Ryder, Michael J. Campola, Dillon E. Johnstone, William J. Thomes, Richard G. Schnurr, John C. McCloskey, Eugenia L. De Marco, Ellen Lee, Calinda M. Yew, Bo Yang, Mingyu Han and Bartosz Blonskiadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Aerospace 2024, 11(6), 456; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11060456 - 5 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1822
Abstract
The successful 2020 launch and 2021 landing of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance Mars rover initiated the first phase of the NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The goal of the MSR campaign is to [...] Read more.
The successful 2020 launch and 2021 landing of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance Mars rover initiated the first phase of the NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. The goal of the MSR campaign is to collect scientifically interesting samples from the Martian surface and return them to Earth for further study in terrestrial laboratories. The MSR campaign consists of three major spacecraft components to accomplish this objective: the Perseverance Mars rover, the Sample Retrieval Lander (SRL) and the Earth Return Orbiter (ERO). Onboard the ERO spacecraft is the Capture, Containment and Return System (CCRS). CCRS will capture, process and return to Earth the samples that have been collected after they are launched into Mars orbit by the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which is delivered to Mars onboard the SRL. To facilitate the processing of the orbiting sample (OS) via the CCRS, we have designed and developed a vision system to determine the OS capture orientation. The vision system is composed of two cameras sensitive to the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum and two illumination modules constructed from broadband light emitting diodes (LED). Vision system laboratory tests and physics-based optical simulations predict CCRS ground processing will be able to correctly identify the OS post-capture orientation using only a single vision system image that is transmitted to Earth from Mars orbit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spacecraft Sample Collection)
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17 pages, 7306 KiB  
Article
Instrument to Study Plume Surface Interactions (PSI) on the Lunar Surface: Science Motivation, Requirements, Instrument Overview, and Test Plans
by Ariana Bueno, Michael J. Krasowski, Norman Prokop, Lawrence C. Greer, Christina M. Adams and Nilton O. Rennó
Aerospace 2024, 11(6), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11060439 - 29 May 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1798
Abstract
Safe landings are imperative to accomplish NASA’s Artemis goal to enable human exploration on the Moon, including sample collection missions. However, a process known as plume surface interaction (PSI) presents a significant hazard to lunar landings. PSI occurs when the engine exhaust of [...] Read more.
Safe landings are imperative to accomplish NASA’s Artemis goal to enable human exploration on the Moon, including sample collection missions. However, a process known as plume surface interaction (PSI) presents a significant hazard to lunar landings. PSI occurs when the engine exhaust of a lander interacts with the surface ejecting large amounts of regolith particles at high velocities that can interfere with the landing, disturb the surface, and damage hardware. To better understand PSI, the particle impact event (PIE) sensor is being developed to measure the kinetic energy and the flux of ejecta during landings, to quantify the potential damage, and to quantify the ejecta displaced. Multiple parameters were estimated to define the PIE instrument requirements. These estimates demonstrate that ejecta can travel at velocities of up to 800 m/s and impact the surrounding area with energies of up to 400 µJ. A significant amount of ejecta can be deposited several 10 s of meters away from the landing site, modifying the surface and causing dust-related challenges. The PIE sensor will be launched for the first time in an upcoming lunar lander. Then, PIE measurements will be used to improve PSI prediction capabilities and develop mitigation strategies to ensure safe landings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Spacecraft Sample Collection)
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