JPL
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
JPL Logo
JPL Logo
Asteroids and Comets
.

NASA Solar Sail Asteroid Mission Readies for Launch on Artemis I

July 13, 2021

Engineers prepare NEA Scout for integration and shipping at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Credit: NASA

NASA’s NEA Scout spacecraft in Gravity Off-load Fixture, System Test configuration at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Credit: NASA

Illustration of NASA’s NEA Scout with the solar sail deployed as it flies by its asteroid destination.

Credit: NASA

Sailing on sunlight, NEA Scout will capture images of an asteroid for scientific study.

NASA’s Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is tucked away safely inside the agency’s powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The solar sailing CubeSat is one of several secondary payloads hitching a ride on Artemis I, the first integrated flight of the agency’s SLS and the Orion spacecraft.

NEA Scout, a small spacecraft roughly the size of a large shoebox, has been packaged into a dispenser and attached to the adapter ring that connects the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. The Artemis I mission will be an uncrewed flight test. It also offers deep space transportation for several CubeSats, enabling opportunities for small spacecraft like NEA Scout to reach the Moon and beyond as part of the Artemis program.

Get the Latest JPL News

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

“NEA Scout will be America’s first interplanetary mission using solar sail propulsion,” said Les Johnson, principal technology investigator for the mission at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “There have been several sail tests in Earth orbit, and we are now ready to show we can use this new type of spacecraft propulsion to go new places and perform important science.”

The CubeSat will use stainless steel alloy booms to deploy an aluminum-coated plastic film sail – thinner than a human hair and about the size of a racquetball court. The large-area sail will generate thrust by reflecting sunlight. Energetic particles of sunlight, called photons, bounce off the solar sail to give it a gentle yet constant push. Over time, this constant thrust can accelerate the spacecraft to very high speeds, allowing it to navigate through space and catch up to its target asteroid.

“This type of propulsion is especially useful for small, lightweight spacecraft that cannot carry large amounts of conventional rocket propellant,” Johnson said.

NEA Scout is also a stepping-stone to another recently selected NASA solar sail mission, Solar Cruiser, which will use a sail 16 times larger when it flies in 2025.

Sailing on sunlight, NEA Scout will begin an approximate two-year journey to fly by a near-Earth asteroid. Once it reaches its destination, the spacecraft will use a science-grade camera to capture images of the asteroid – down to less than four inches (10 centimeters) per pixel – which scientists will then study to further our understanding of these small but important solar system neighbors. High-resolution imaging is made possible thanks to the low-velocity flyby (less than 100 feet, or 30 meters, per second) enabled by the solar sail.

The data obtained will help scientists understand a smaller class of asteroids – those measuring less than 100 meters (330 feet) across – that have never been explored by spacecraft.

“The images gathered by NEA Scout will provide critical information on the asteroid’s physical properties such as orbit, shape, volume, rotation, the dust and debris field surrounding it, plus its surface properties,” said Julie Castillo-Rogez, the mission’s principal science investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Near-Earth asteroids are also important destinations for exploration, in situ resource utilization, and scientific research. In the past decade, detections of near-Earth asteroids have steadily risen and are expected to grow, offering expanded opportunities as exploration destinations.

“Despite their size, some of these small asteroids could pose a threat to Earth,” Dr. Jim Stott, NEA Scout technology project manager, said. “Understanding their properties could help us develop strategies for reducing the potential damage caused in the event of an impact.”

Scientists will use this data to determine what is required to reduce risk, increase effectiveness, and improve the design and operations of robotic and human space exploration, added Castillo-Rogez.

NEA Scout is developed under NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems division. The CubeSat is designed and developed by NASA Marshall in Huntsville, Alabama, and JPL in Southern California.

News Media Contact

Molly Porter

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.

256-424-5158

molly.a.porter@nasa.gov

Ian J. O’Neill

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

818-354-2649

ian.j.oneill@jpl.nasa.gov

2021-145

Related News

Technology .

Ultracold Bubbles on Space Station Open New Avenues of Quantum Research

Solar System .

Engineers Investigating NASA’s Voyager 1 Telemetry Data

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA’s Psyche Starts Processing at Kennedy

Stars and Galaxies .

Webb Telescope’s Coldest Instrument Reaches Operating Temperature

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA Shows Off Psyche Spacecraft to Media

Asteroids and Comets .

US Space Force Releases Decades of Bolide Data to NASA for Planetary Defense Studies

Asteroids and Comets .

Shake and Bake: NASA’s Psyche Is Tested in Spacelike Conditions

Technology .

NASA Adds Giant New Dish to Communicate With Deep Space Missions

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA System Predicts Impact of Small Asteroid

Asteroids and Comets .

NASA’s Psyche Gets Huge Solar Arrays for Trip to Metal-Rich Asteroid

Explore More

Mission .

Near Earth Asteroid Scout

Mission .

Lunar Flashlight

Mission .

Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer

Mission .

Deep Space Atomic Clock

Mission .

RainCube

Mission .

TEMPEST-D

Mission .

CubeRRT

Mission .

Psyche

Asteroid Watch Overview .

Asteroid Watch

Asteroid Watch Fast Facts .

Fast Facts

About JPL
Who We Are
Executive Council
Directors
Careers
Internships
The JPL Story
JPL Achievements
Documentary Series
Annual Reports
Missions
Current
Past
Future
All
News
All
Earth
Solar System
Stars and Galaxies
Subscribe to JPL News
Galleries
Images
Videos
Audio
Podcasts
Apps
Visions of the Future
Slice of History
Robotics at JPL
Events
Lecture Series
Team Competitions
Speakers Bureau
Calendar
Visit
Public Tours
Virtual Tour
Topics
JPL Life
Solar System
Mars
Earth
Climate Change
Exoplanets
Stars and Galaxies
Robotics
More
Asteroid Watch
NASA's Eyes Visualizations
Universe - Internal Newsletter
Social Media
Get the Latest from JPL
Follow Us

JPL is a federally funded research and development center managed for NASA by Caltech.

More from JPL
Careers Education Science & Technology Acquisitions JPL Store
Careers
Education
Science & Technology
Acquisitions
JPL Store
Related NASA Sites
Basics of Spaceflight
Climate Kids
Earth / Global Climate Change
Exoplanet Exploration
Mars Exploration
Solar System Exploration
Space Place
NASA's Eyes Visualization Project
Voyager Interstellar Mission
NASA
Caltech
Privacy
Image Policy
FAQ
Feedback
Site Managers: Veronica McGregor, Randal Jackson
Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Naomi Hartono