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<p>This study evaluates a technique for determining the mass of a potentially hazardous asteroid from a high-speed flyby in the context of a rapid reconnaissance planetary defense scenario. We consider a host spacecraft that dispenses a small CubeSat, which acts as a test-mass. Both spacecraft perform approach maneuvers to target their flyby locations, with the host targeting a close proximity flyby and the CubeSat targeting a distant flyby. By incorporating short-range intersatellite measurements between the host and the CubeSat, the mass measurement sensitivity is substantially improved. We evaluate a set of proposed host and CubeSat hardware options against the 2023 and 2025 Planetary Defense Conference hypothetical threats, as well as a hypothetical flyby of 2024 YR<InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(_4\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>. These scenarios differ predominantly in their flyby speeds, which span from 1.7 to 22&#xa0;km/s. Based on these scenarios, we demonstrate that a typical radio-frequency intersatellite measurement is ineffective for asteroids with diameters relevant to planetary defense (i.e., 50–500&#xa0;m). However, we find that augmenting the system with a laser-based intersatellite ranging system or a high-precision Doppler system can enable mass measurements of asteroids as small as 100&#xa0;m across all cases, and as small as 50&#xa0;m for the slower (<InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(\le\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> 8&#xa0;km/s) cases. The results are very sensitive to the timing of the final maneuver, which is used to target the low-altitude flyby point. This presents an operational challenge for the smallest objects, where optical detection times are comparatively late and the optical navigation targeting knowledge converges too slowly.</p>

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Operational Mass Measurement for Flyby Reconnaissance Missions of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月6日

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  • Justin A. Atchison,
  • Gael Cascioli,
  • Anivid Pedros-Faura,
  • Erwan Mazarico,
  • Rylie A. Bull,
  • Jay McMahon,
  • Evan J. Smith,
  • Daniel R. Cremons

摘要

This study evaluates a technique for determining the mass of a potentially hazardous asteroid from a high-speed flyby in the context of a rapid reconnaissance planetary defense scenario. We consider a host spacecraft that dispenses a small CubeSat, which acts as a test-mass. Both spacecraft perform approach maneuvers to target their flyby locations, with the host targeting a close proximity flyby and the CubeSat targeting a distant flyby. By incorporating short-range intersatellite measurements between the host and the CubeSat, the mass measurement sensitivity is substantially improved. We evaluate a set of proposed host and CubeSat hardware options against the 2023 and 2025 Planetary Defense Conference hypothetical threats, as well as a hypothetical flyby of 2024 YR \(_4\) . These scenarios differ predominantly in their flyby speeds, which span from 1.7 to 22 km/s. Based on these scenarios, we demonstrate that a typical radio-frequency intersatellite measurement is ineffective for asteroids with diameters relevant to planetary defense (i.e., 50–500 m). However, we find that augmenting the system with a laser-based intersatellite ranging system or a high-precision Doppler system can enable mass measurements of asteroids as small as 100 m across all cases, and as small as 50 m for the slower ( \(\le\) 8 km/s) cases. The results are very sensitive to the timing of the final maneuver, which is used to target the low-altitude flyby point. This presents an operational challenge for the smallest objects, where optical detection times are comparatively late and the optical navigation targeting knowledge converges too slowly.