JUPITER EXPLORATION MISSION CONCEPT : REMOTE SENSING STUDIES OF THE PLANET

This work proposes mission to Jupiter and its moons. The primary mission will consist of a spacecraft that will deploy a small-satellite and a CubeSat constellation that shall explore the gas giant planet and its moons for its atmospheric composition and surface mapping. Trade studies on the payload shall be done. Optimal mission trajectory shall be designed from launch to orbital insertion of the satellite. Through this mission, our knowledge and understanding of the planet and the formation of Jupiter’s moons will be increased. Before the end of life of each CubeSat, it shall be de-orbited into the atmosphere of Jupiter at a specifically selected site of interest and relay images and other data of the atmosphere. The same process shall be carried out with all the other CubeSat in the same location after a gap of several weeks so as to achieve the data of the same location with a certain interval of time and come up with geodetic framework. This shall help us compare and analyze the previous data. With the help of the CubeSat constellation, a geodetic framework can be made and various process and phenomena can be monitored. This paper will cover all areas of exploration mission design.Efforts are being made to reduce the mission costs and if implemented, it shall yield positive results and expand our understanding of the solar system and formation of the multi-moon system.