Jun'ichiro Kawaguchi

The 29th Workshop on JAXA Astrodynamics and Flight Mechanics 2019 (July 22-23, 2019. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)(ISAS)), Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan

29th Symposium on Aerospace Structure and Materials (December 3, 2013. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)(ISAS)), Sagamihara, Kanagawa Japan

Deep space mission requires small size, small mass, small consumption power and others. Most of these technologies can be modified and applied to communication and observation system of 50kg class microsatellites. In this paper, present and future of deep space exploration mission are investigated and applicability of such technologies to communication, observation and other system of small satellites.

Since 2008, a new plan for next Mars exploration program has been proposed and discussed by scientists and engineers in Japan. This exploration program is named MELOS, or Mars Exploration with Lander and Orbiter Synergy, a long-awaited program in the planetary science community in Japan after unsuccessful end of Nozomi Mars orbiter and ongoing challenge of Akatsuki Venus orbiter. The goal of the whole program is to understand Mars as a system, by elucidation of Martian climate, atmospheric escape, internal structure, surface environment and interaction by them. A series of missions has been planned, and several spacecraft including orbiters and landers are under discussion to be launched in early 2020's. In this paper, we investigate launch opportunities during early 2020's and estimate the payload mass in each case. Feasible interplanetary transfer trajectories from Earth to Mars are proposed. Preliminary design of insertion sequence into the Mars orbit and some orbit candidates derived from mission requirements are also shown together with numerical simulation results.