The Near-Earth Space Surveillance (NESS) Mission: Discovering Near-Earth Objects with a Microsatellite

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The Near-Earth Space Surveillance (NESS)
MissionDiscovering Near-Earth Objects with a
Microsatellite

• Seminar Presented at the
• University of Rochester on
• 24 Nov 2008
• by Ed Tedesco

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Spacecraft is named NEOSSat(Near-Earth
Object Surveillance Satellite)

• Microsatellite is funded by
• - Defence Research Development Canada
  (Department of National Defence)
• - Canadian Space Agency (Industry Canada)
• - Canadian Science Team support from Space
  Sciences Sector (CSA)
• - Prime contractor is Dynacon Inc.
• - Currently in Phase C
• - Launch early in 2010

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NEOSSat is a Dual-Use Mission...

• Asteroid Search
• NESS Project
• Some Near-Earth Asteroid classes are difficult to
  observe from the ground
• Some are potentially hazardous
• Some are potential future exploration targets
• Searching and tracking from orbit offers
  advantages

• Satellite Tracking
• HEOSS Project
• DND pursuing Surveillance of Space (SoS) mission
• Deeper understanding needed in many areas
• DRDC providing RD support
• A microsat is a fast, cheap way to test-fly
  SoS-relevant technologies

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NEOSSat Science Teams

• Asteroid Science
• (NESS Project)
• Alan Hildebrand, U. Calgary (PI)
• Ed Tedesco, PSI (US Sci. Team PI)
• Rob Cardinal, U. Calgary
• Jaymie Matthews, UBC
• Brett Gladman, UBC
• Brad Wallace, DRDC
• Peter Brown, UWO
• Paul Wiegert, UWO
• Paul Chodas, JPL
• Mikael Granvik, U. Helsinki
• Steve Larson, U. Arizona
• Simon P. Worden, ARC
• Kieran Carroll, GEDEX
• Pete Gural, SAIC

• Satellite Tracking
• (HEOSS Project)
• Brad Wallace, DRDC (PI)
• Frank Pinkney, DRDC
• Doug Burrell, RMC
• Lauchie Scott, DRDC
• Don Bedard, DRDC
• Jim Rody, DRDC
• Aaron Spaans, DRDC
• Martin Levesque, DRDC
• Sylvie Buteau, DRDC
• Tom Racey, RMC
• Alan Hildebrand, U.Calgary

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Why NEOSSat and Small Bodies?

• Science Goals
• NRC (1998) The Exploration of NEOs
• To understand the orbital distribution, physical
• characteristics, composition, origin, and
  history
• of near-Earth objects.
• The interaction of the NEO population with the
  planets
• Societal Goals
• Understand Impact Hazard
• Identify Extraterrestrial Resources

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MOST (Microvariability and Oscillations of
Stars)

• Dynacon is Prime Contractor
• Jaymie Matthews, PI
• Launched by Eurockot, June 30, 2003
• Stellar astronomy mission
• 0.007 degree attitude control

Partner Universities Univ. Toronto Univ.
British Columbia
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NEOSSat
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Constraining the Atira (a.k.a. IEO) Orbital
Class Asteroid Population

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The Inner Solar System
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The Inner most Solar System
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NEO Orbital Classes
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We live in a historic time
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The U.S. Congress Goal
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Rationale for U.S. Congressional Goal
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NESS Objectives
- Search for new Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs),
focusing on Atens and Atiras
- Do follow-up tracking of NEAs
- Assess potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs)
- Monitor cometary behaviour
- Enable radar imaging
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NEOSSat Advantages for NEA Searching

• Can look close to the Sun
• - Can discover IEOs, constrain population
  characteristics
• - Accelerate discovery rate for Atens, Apollos
• - Create opportunities for future NEA exploration
  missions
• - Create radar-imaging opportunities in daylight
  sky
• - Interrogate impact keyholes in daylight sky
• - Observe cometary behaviour close to the Sun

Parallax - Baseline of orbit diameter - Allows
immediate distinction of NEAs from main-belt
objects
24/7 availability higher productivity
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Cataloguing Search Efficiencies
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Warning Efficiencies
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Spaced-based Sensor Wins

• - 0.5 LEO telescope out performs 4.0 m
  ground-based telescope in both cataloguing and
  warning

• LEO deployment is superior to other
  space-based sittings
• for warning capability

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The First Warning
Asteroid 2008 TC3 was discovered on 06 October
2008 as part of the NASA-funded Catalina Sky
Survey for Near-Earth Objects and impacted the
Earth on 07 October 2008. An asteroid the size of
2008 TC3 (3 m in diameter) impacts the Earth
every few months, but this is the first time one
has been discovered before impact.
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The First Warning
The brief flash created when 2008 TC3 entered the
atmosphere was captured by Meteosat-8 in Rapid
Scan Service, as shown in the image below. (IR3.9
channel, 07 October 2008 at 024547 UTC).
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The First Warning
The aftermath of the entry of 2008 TC3 into the
atmosphere over northern Sudan was also captured
in a video frame (below), showing the remnants of
the long-lasting persistent, twisted, high
altitude trail.
Credit Mohamed E. A. Mahir (Noub NGO), Dr.
Muawia H. Shaddad (Univ. Khartoum), Dr. Peter
Jenniskens (SETI Institute/NASA Ames).
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NESS NEO Search Regions
Search each patch 4 times each, once per month
Search patches each 0.86x 0.86 deg
Ecliptic East Region
Ecliptic West Region
/-45 deg
/-40 deg
/-55 deg
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Richness of NEO Fields near the Sun
optimizes search performance (Boattini and
Carusi, 1998)
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Asteroid sky distribution to 300 m(Harris et
al., 2006)
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Simulated Atira Sky Densities (Masi, 2003)
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Search Parameters can be Optimized for NEO
Orbital Class
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Simulated Search Performance Atens and Atiras
D gt 500 m
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Discovery Sensitivity to Asteroid Limiting
Magnitude
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Discovery Magnitude Distribution for Survey to
V 21 (56 of discoveries have V between 20 and
21.)
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Phase Effects vs. Distance at Low Solar
Elongations
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Discriminating NEA asteroids of interest
Proper motions at discovery?
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Proper Motions of Main Belt Asteroids at
Discovery
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Saved by Parallax A Consequence of Orbiting
Sensor
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NEOSSat Boldly Going

• - Will constrain Atira (IEO) population

• Will explore the synergies between
• ground-based space-based sensors

• Will develop asteroid search software
• for a parallatic space-based sensor

• NEOSSat will put Canada at No. 2 in the
• world at contributing to reduction of the
• NEO impact hazard in dollars invested