Expected Scientific Data provided by the Commercial NEA Mission "High Frontier"

High Frontier is a funded commercial space mission [1,2,3] to a near-Earth asteroid (NEA) by Karman+, a Colorado-based U.S. startup aiming to enable sustainable space resource utilization through mining near-Earth asteroids. Scheduled for launch on SpaceX Transporter 19 in early 2027, High Frontier has the following key objectives:

• Rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid
• Capture kilogram-scale surface regolith
• Maintain a total mission cost (s/c, operations, launch, R&D, etc) in the range of $10-15 million
• Provide scientific data on the asteroid, including surface imaging and select physical measurements.

The primary mission target is the relatively well-characterized NEA 2022 DC5, with 2021 UH2 as the main backup target to accommodate launch window constraints, though a longer list of lower-priority backup targets does exist. The targets have been selected primarily based on accessibility, absolute magnitude as a proxy for size, and rotation period, where slower, non-tumbling rotators are preferred both to minimize mission complexity and to maximize the expected probability of loose regolith existing on the target surface.  Mission completion is anticipated by mid-2028, contingent on the final launch date and target selection.
Karman+, while a commercial entity, is committed to fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with the planetary science community. Accordingly, we plan to make scientific data from High Frontier freely available for independent research. Our data sharing philosophy distinguishes between data pertaining to the asteroid itself (to be shared openly) and details of proprietary Karman+ technology (which may be restricted). A public data sharing policy is under development and is expected to be published this year to outline expected data products and access.

The spacecraft’s scientific payload primarily comprises camera systems for high-resolution surface imaging and the external Surface Dielectric Analyzer (SDA) provided by the University of Tokyo, that will measure the dielectric constant of the material of the target asteroid, itself based on the Lunar Dielectric Analyzer on Artemis III [4]. While limited, this instrumentation is expected to yield significant data on the target NEA, contributing valuable new observations to the relatively small number of asteroids studied up-close. Future Karman+ missions plan to incorporate more extensive instrumentation.

This presentation will overview the High Frontier mission with particular focus on its scientific instrumentation, expected measurements, and data sharing policy. We seek to generate awareness and foster collaborations with the scientific community for both High Frontier and for future Karman+ asteroid missions.

[1] Velez et al. 2024. 2024 AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference.
[2] Siltala et al. 2024. Europlanet Science Congress 2024.
[3] Siltala et al. 2025. Winter Satellite Workshop 2025.
[4] Miyamoto et al. 2024. AGU 2024.