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Model Payload

Figure 1: The laser altimeter of the Japanese Hayabusa mission to asteroid Itokawa

The proposed model payload consists of two suites of instrumentation. The remote sensing instruments are mounted on the spacecraft orbiter for global observations of the target asteroid. The possible lander contains an instrument package for in-situ investigation of the surface of the NEO.

The scientific instrumentation supports the selection of the sampling site and guides the spacecraft towards it. It also provides additional scientific data which could not be retrieved from the returned sample, e.g. crater counts from the NEO's surface.

Instrument

Observation

Location

Narrow/wide angle camera Multispectral imaging Orbiter
Visible/near infrared spectrometer Chemical composition and mineralogy Orbiter
Mid-infrared spectrometer Thermophysical properties of surface Orbiter
Laser altimeter Mapping of surface topography Orbiter
Radio science experiment Determination of mass and structure Orbiter
Dust monitor Observation of dust environment Orbiter
Neutral Particle analyser Analysis of neutral species Orbiter
Close-up imager Images of regolith Lander
Scanning electron microscope Microscopic images and chemical composition Lander
Laser mass spectrometer Molecular, elemental and relative isotopic abundances Lander
X-ray diffractometer Mineralogy Lander
Thermal sensor Thermal properties of regolith Lander


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Last Update: 21 Feb 2008
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