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\t\t\t\t\t\t02\/07\/2026<\/span> The European Space Agency has contracted Spanish company EMXYS for the first CubeSat designed to operate on the surface of an asteroid. Don Quijote is a shoebox-sized spacecraft that will be deployed onto the Apophis asteroid by ESA\u2019s Ramses mission before the asteroid flies by Earth on 13 April 2029.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe arrival of Apophis represents a unique opportunity,\u201d said ESA\u2019s programme manager for Mars and Beyond, Orson Sutherland. \u201cIt is exceedingly rare for such a large asteroid \u2013 at 375 m across, about the size of a cruise liner \u2013 to pass so near to Earth. Flying past at an altitude of 32 000 km, its trajectory will take it within the orbit of our geostationary satellites.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really a free experiment because the tug of Earth\u2019s gravity is forecast to trigger deformation and potentially set off asteroid quakes, that Don Quijote will now be able to monitor right on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Ramses mission manager Paolo Martino adds: \u201cNow that also the last main contract has been signed, the team can get on with implementing the mission within an unavoidably tight timescale \u2013 because the asteroid will not be waiting around for us!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Tight deadline for launch<\/b><\/p>\n To meet its spring 2028 deadline for launch on a Japanese H3 rocket, the development, integration and testing of Ramses must be completed within less than two years. To help achieve this, Ramses reuses design elements of ESA\u2019s Hera asteroid mission, on track to reach the Dimorphos asteroid this November.<\/p>\n Ramses, like Hera, will also carry a pair of CubeSats \u2013 miniature spacecraft built up from 10 cm boxes \u2013 for closer observations of its target. Farinella, from Italy\u2019s Tyvak International company, will combine a ground-penetrating radar with a dust analyser.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Don Quijote is being provided by Spain\u2019s EMXYS company, which previously built a gravity-measuring \u2018gravimeter\u2019 for Hera\u2019s Juventas CubeSat, which will aim to attempt a landing on the Dimorphos asteroid.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Into the unknown<\/b><\/p>\n Jos\u00e9 A. Carrasco, CEO of EMXYS explains: \u201cWe have previously provided CubeSat platforms for low-Earth orbit, but Don Quijote must operate in the much more challenging deep space environment, then proceed to land autonomously onto a strange and largely unknown surface. Once there it has not only to survive but also perform demanding science at the same time, then relaying results back to its Ramses mothership.\u201d<\/p>\n The CubeSat will carry a trio of instruments: a new gravimeter developed by the Royal Observatory of Belgium\u00a0with EMXYS; a magnetometer from Germany\u2019s Technische Universit\u00e4t Braunschweig\u00a0to measure if the asteroid has a magnetic field \u2013 and how it might change when interacting with Earth\u2019s own magnetic field and gravity \u2013 and a seismometer from French aerospace centre ISAE-SUPAERO, to perform the first seismic measurements on an asteroid.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Cramming all of Don Quijote within a space smaller than a desk drawer is also a challenge, adds EMXYS Chief Technology Officer Francisco Garc\u00eda de Quir\u00f3s: \u201cWe have to fit in all our instruments, plus the spacecraft electronics, batteries and inter-satellite links, along with eight thrusters for propulsion. At the same time we must maintain a carefully controlled centre of mass so the thrusters work with optimal efficiency as the CubeSat steers itself down to a safe landing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Landing, then bouncing?<\/b><\/p>\n Francesca Ingiosi, overseeing Ramses\u2019 CubeSats, notes: \u201cThere won\u2019t be time for sustained human oversight: Don Quijote is going to take itself down on a completely autonomous basis, relying on feature tracking to find a safe place to land. It will be running its gravimeter and magnetometer when it flies, but we have high expectations for its scientific work on the surface.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will come down quite slowly, but in the ultra-low gravity of Apophis some bouncing along the surface is possible. The CubeSat is therefore designed to operate from any orientation, although the precise nature of the surface remains a question mark: there is even a small possibility that Don Quijote sinks into the ground, which would not be good!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThe asteroid is likely to be tumbling chaotically, and passing from local day to night should mean big temperature shifts. To maximise our surface lifetime we would want to be on a spot experiencing both day and night, to allow us to recharge our batteries without overheating. But if we did end up in sustained shadow Don Quijote also has non-rechargeable batteries as a backup power source.\u201d<\/p>\n Both CubeSats are now being built in their respective countries. They will join the Ramses spacecraft in autumn next year, during the mission\u2019s qualification phase at the ESTEC Test Centre\u00a0in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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