TASTE: Science and Technology of a CubeSat Mission to the Martian Moon Deimos.

Deimos and Phobos are considered key targets for understanding the origin and evolution of Mars and the outer Solar System planets. To date, there is no clear consensus in the scientific community about the formation of the two moons [1]. There are two main hypotheses for the origin of the moons: they are thought to have been formed by a giant impact between Mars and a protoplanet, or they are captured asteroids. [2].

TASTE - Terrain Analyzer and Sample Tester Explorer is a 16U small satellite mission consisting of a 12U orbiter capable of deploying a 4U lander to explore the Martian moon Deimos. The high-level scientific objectives of the mission are to understand the origin of Deimos by combining both global morphology and elemental composition from close orbit and local surface organic and mineralogical composition with a lander, complementing the expected results of the JAXA MMX mission [3]. The orbiter will carry a camera and an X- and γ-ray spectrometer, while the lander will carry a camera and the Surface Sample Analyser (SSA). In addition, the orbiter's radio will be used to collect gravity field data.

The in-situ SSA payload consists of the Sample Acquisition Mechanism, which collects the samples from the surface, the Sample Extraction Chamber, where the organic sample is extracted, and the Sample Analytical Laboratory, where the organic samples are measured in a Lab-on-Chip device by fluorescence. The orbiter will carry a miniaturised X-γ-ray spectrometer to characterise the elemental composition of the surface. The relative abundance of elements with atomic number ≤20 down to a few micrometres of the surface will be measured by fluorescent X-ray spectroscopy, using solar X-rays to excite the atoms of the elements. Gamma-ray spectroscopy of nuclear lines excited by galactic cosmic rays will also be used to assess the abundance of elements in the surface down to 10-20 cm.  

TASTE is funded by the Italian Space Agency under the ALCOR programme. The consortium, consisting of the INAF Arcetri and Trieste Observatories and the Politecnico di Milano, has successfully completed Phase A and is about to start Phase B. TASTE represents an innovation in the CubeSat landscape, combining the development of space technology with cutting-edge scientific analysis. In this presentation, the scientific objectives and mission design to develop the TASTE CubeSat class mission for scientific investigations in deep space low-gravity environments will be presented.

Acknowledgements: TASTE is supported by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) within the ALCOR Programme (Contract TASTE n. 2022-26-I.0). The project is lead by the Italian consortium INAF-Arcetri Astrophysics Observatory, Firenze, Astronomical Observatory of Trieste and the Politecnico of Milano-DAER, Milano, Italy.

References:

[1] Rosenblatt et al., (2016), Nat. Geosci, 9, pp.581–583.

[2] Murchie et al., (1999), JGR, 104 (E4), pp.9069-907. 

[3] Campagnola et al., (2018), Acta Astronautica, 146, pp. 409-417.