SH019-02
Progress Towards a Pragmatic Interstellar Probe

Wednesday, 9 December 2020: 05:34
Virtual
Ralph L McNutt Jr1, Robert F Wimmer-Schweingruber2, Mike Gruntman3, Stamatios Mike Krimigis4, Edmond C Roelof1, Carey Michael Lisse5, Kirby Runyon1, Abigail M Rymer6, Steven R. Vernon7, Michael Vincent Paul8, Robert Stough9, James D Kinnison1 and Pragmatic Interstellar Probe Study Team, (1)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States, (2)University of Kiel, Institute for Experimental and Applied Physics, Kiel, Germany, (3)Univ of So California, Los Angeles, CA, United States, (4)Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Space, Laurel, MD, United States, (5)JHU-APL, Laurel, MD, United States, (6)Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Laurel, MD, United States, (7)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Space Exploration Sector, Laurel, MD, United States, (8)The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Space Exploration Sector, Laurel, MD, United States, (9)NASA Marshal Spaceflight Center, Huntsville, AL, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
A mission to the nearby interstellar medium, known as Interstellar Probe, has been debated and conceptualized for the past 60 years. Even with the penetration of the Voyager spacecraft into nearby interstellar space, the science case for such a mission has only strengthened. Based upon this backdrop, NASA’s Heliophysics Division tasked the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) with taking a renewed look at such a mission for the next Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey. During the second year of this study, the effort has focused on mapping pragmatic possibilities to community-wide science goals and measurement approaches for input to the Survey. Adopted requirements include (1) a launch readiness date of no later than 1 January 2030; (2) downlink of science data from no less than 1000 a.u.; (3) available power of 600 watts at launch and half that at missions’ end; and, (4) a mission lifetime, by design, of 50 years. This effort is supported by seven ongoing engineering studies: (1) Longevity, examining historical spacecraft lifetimes/failures, long-lasting systems, and failure modes assessment; (2) Instruments, providing candidate payload components to assess how those will levy requirements back on the spacecraft; (3) Trajectory and launch vehicle trades to determine achievable solar system escape speeds; (4) Communication and guidance and control (G&C), assessing best strategies for maximizing the science data downlink from up to 1000 a.u.; (5) Heat Shield materials and construction, to determine how close and with what mass the spacecraft could actually approach to the Sun to execute an Oberth maneuver (one of the trajectory trades); (6) Mechanical layout, to accommodate baseline payloads and all other trades, to estimate achievable solar-system escape speeds; and, (7) Power system configurations to meet power requirements, based upon the Next-Generation Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (NG-RTG), to meet power and longevity requirements. We report on general progress to date in these key areas and how results to date are informing the next year’s effort.
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