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Small satellites are nowadays extremely powerful, flexible and sustainable platforms that can complement the missions usually assigned to larger spacecrafts. Modularity, standardization, intensive use of state-of-the art Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies consent to prepare cheaper missions in shorter timeframes, thus allowing a more frequent access to space environment, including Cislunar and Interplanetary. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) promotes, funds and coordinates the national initiatives also in this promising sector, both for national missions and within international cooperation. ArgoMoon and LICIACube, both cubesats 6U in size, are the initial results of this endeavor. The Italian firm Argotec, designed, manufactured and tested them for ASI, making them the first Italian spacecraft to function beyond the Low Earth Orbit. The Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) participated in the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, the first active Planetary Defense mission. On September 26th, 2022, LICIACube took unique pictures of the impact effects on asteroid Dimorphos after DART's collision, such as the plume of ejecta and the secondary asteroid's non-visible side. On November 16th, 2022, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) injected ArgoMoon (AGM) into cislunar orbit during the “Artemis-1 mission” to test small satellite technologies in this environment. During both missions, the Mission Control Centre established in Italy employed NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas as terminal elements for communicating with the cubesats. The national team, led by Argotec and coordinated by the Agency and investigation leaders coordinated by the National Institute of Astrophysics INAF, has conducted the operations. Accurate target tracking was necessary for both missions, which was managed by Argotec's on-board software. The Polytechnic of Milan designed the nominal trajectory and corrective maneuvers for LICIACube's guidance. The University of Bologna and JPL had specialized teams who independently accomplished navigation using radiometric observables, which were compared and adopted. This paper describes the initial outcomes of the two ASI missions, with particular attention to the primary common and specific challenges and the first assessment of activities carried out.

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Italian First Deep Space Exploration Missions with ArgoMoon and LICIACube

  • 会议论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • S. Pirrotta,
  • G. Impresario,
  • E. Bruno,
  • F. Cavallo,
  • M. Ceresoli,
  • B. Cotugno,
  • I. Gai,
  • L. Gomez Casajus,
  • E. Gramigna,
  • M. Lombardo,
  • M. Zannoni,
  • G. Zanotti,
  • M. Amoroso,
  • I. Bertini,
  • J. R. Brucato,
  • A. Capannolo,
  • G. Cremonese,
  • M. Dall’Ora,
  • V. Della Corte,
  • J. D. P. Deshapriya,
  • E. Dotto,
  • P. H. Hasselmann,
  • S. Ieva,
  • S. L. Ivanovski,
  • M. Lavagna,
  • A. Lucchetti,
  • E. Mazzotta Epifani,
  • F. Miglioretti,
  • D. Modenini,
  • M. Pajola,
  • P. Palumbo,
  • D. Perna,
  • G. Poggiali,
  • P. Tortora,
  • A. Rossi,
  • F. Tusberti,
  • A. Zinzi

摘要

Small satellites are nowadays extremely powerful, flexible and sustainable platforms that can complement the missions usually assigned to larger spacecrafts. Modularity, standardization, intensive use of state-of-the art Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies consent to prepare cheaper missions in shorter timeframes, thus allowing a more frequent access to space environment, including Cislunar and Interplanetary. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) promotes, funds and coordinates the national initiatives also in this promising sector, both for national missions and within international cooperation. ArgoMoon and LICIACube, both cubesats 6U in size, are the initial results of this endeavor. The Italian firm Argotec, designed, manufactured and tested them for ASI, making them the first Italian spacecraft to function beyond the Low Earth Orbit. The Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube) participated in the NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, the first active Planetary Defense mission. On September 26th, 2022, LICIACube took unique pictures of the impact effects on asteroid Dimorphos after DART's collision, such as the plume of ejecta and the secondary asteroid's non-visible side. On November 16th, 2022, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) injected ArgoMoon (AGM) into cislunar orbit during the “Artemis-1 mission” to test small satellite technologies in this environment. During both missions, the Mission Control Centre established in Italy employed NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas as terminal elements for communicating with the cubesats. The national team, led by Argotec and coordinated by the Agency and investigation leaders coordinated by the National Institute of Astrophysics INAF, has conducted the operations. Accurate target tracking was necessary for both missions, which was managed by Argotec's on-board software. The Polytechnic of Milan designed the nominal trajectory and corrective maneuvers for LICIACube's guidance. The University of Bologna and JPL had specialized teams who independently accomplished navigation using radiometric observables, which were compared and adopted. This paper describes the initial outcomes of the two ASI missions, with particular attention to the primary common and specific challenges and the first assessment of activities carried out.