[P-CG20] Future missions and instrumentation for space and planetary science

[PCG20-P04] Concept study of optical cameras for Next Generation small bodies Sample Return (NGSR) mission

*Naoya Sakatani¹, Shuji Matsuura², Shingo Kameda³, ERI TATSUMI¹, Yuichiro Cho⁴, Toru Kouyama⁵, Tomokatsu Morota⁴, Ko Ishibashi⁶, Takao Nakagawa¹, Seiji Sugita⁴, Yuri Shimaki¹, Hiroyuki Kurokawa⁴, Tatsuaki Okada¹ (1.Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 2.Kwansei Gakuin University, 3.Rikkyo University, 4.University of Tokyo, 5.AIST, 6.PERC Chiba Institute of Technology)

The Next Generation small-body Sample Return (NGSR) mission is a candidate under consideration for a Japanese strategic class mission to in the 2030s. Following Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, and near-futured Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), NGSR aims to return samples from a comet. Hayabusa2 returned the samples from C-type asteroid Ryugu and revealed the evolution from its parent body and the material transport in the early solar system [1]. However, the ultimate origins of the solar-system material and how first-generation planetesimals formed remains unsolved. Thus, the NGSR science goals include, (I) unveiling the origin of the solar system materials in galactic evolution, (II) unveiling the origin of the solar system bodies to form planetesimals. The surface materials of the comets have been processed by cyclic solar heating and irradiation. Specifically, NGSR explores and samples the subsurface materials of the target body. The surface materials of comets have been processed by cyclic solar heating, space weathering, and cometary activity. On the other hand, subsurface materials will preserve information of the most primordial composition and the formation history of the body. The nominal target body of this mission is Jupiter-family comet 289P/Blanpain. It will take 14 years from the launch in 2034’s to the sample return onto the Earth.

During the proximity phase, topography, shape, and visible color observations will be performed using an optical navigation camera. Furthermore, due to the long time of the cruising until the arrival, zodiacal light observation will be performed using the optical camera. Such observation has been performed by Hayabusa2 ONC-T during its extended mission phase [3]. The science requirements of the NGSR optical navigation camera are:
1. Imaging the surface with 10 cm/pix.
2. Measure the visible reflectance spectra in the wavelength range from 0.4 to 0.9 μm with an accuracy of 1%.
3. Detect the zodiacal light in the visible wavelength range with S/N > 5.<br type="_moz" />
Based on these requirements, we are now designing the camera system, especially for the sensor selection. In this presentation, we will review the NGSR optical camera system and future plan for the development.

References: [1] Nakamura T. et al. (2022) Science, 90, eabn8671. [2] Saiki T. et al. (2024) International Astronautical Federation, IAC-24,A3,4A,12,x82783 [3] Tsumura et al. (2023) Earth Planets Space 75, 121.