Analysis of touch-down dynamics and sampling sequence of MUSES-C

Abstract

The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan (ISAS) is developing a spacecraft that obtains samples from the surface of an asteroid, then return to Earth. The spacecraft, named MUSES-C targets 1998SF36, one of nearEarth asteroids. Since the gravity of the asteroid is considerably small, the spacecraft will not be able to stand on its surface, and thus will have to acquire samples in a dynamic sequence. The touch-down behavior of the MUSES-C is studied based on the dynamics model of a multibody system with frictional contact. To verify the mathematical model, experiments with a miniature model have been carried out under the micro-gravity environment in a dropshaft facility, MGLAB. Full-scale experiments with the hardware components of the proto-flight model have been also carried out using the ISAS’s robot simulator. Nominal and critical cases of the touch-down sampling are examined by comparing the results of experiment and numerical simulation.