REMORA: Autonomous CubeSat Fleet Proposed for Asteroid Characterization
A new mission concept, REMORA (REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids), has been proposed to enhance the understanding of asteroid composition. The plan outlines an autonomous space fleet comprising a swarm of CubeSats designed to tag, track, and characterize multiple near-Earth asteroids. This approach aims to overcome the limitations of remote sensing from ground-based telescopes or orbiting observatories.
A white paper submitted to the U.K. Space Agency's 2035 Space Frontiers program introduces a novel mission architecture named REMORA, or REndezvous Mission for Orbital Reconstruction of Asteroids.
The proposed mission envisions an autonomous space fleet that would deploy a swarm of CubeSats. These small, autonomous satellites are designed to tag, track, and characterize multiple near-Earth asteroids, providing detailed insights into their makeup.
The initiative addresses the challenge of fully understanding asteroid composition, which existing remote sensing technologies, such as ground-based telescopes and orbiting observatories, can only partially achieve. By sending probes directly to asteroids, REMORA seeks to gather more comprehensive data.
The white paper outlining this concept is publicly available on the arXiv preprint server. According to Phys.org, the mission aims to significantly advance asteroid research.
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