| MISSION_DESCRIPTION |
This material has been adapted from the New Horizons web site. The mission
stop date is the current stop date of the Kuiper Belt (KB) Extended Mission
(KEM).
The MISSION_STOP_DATE is the current contracted mission stop date.
Summary
=======
Launch: January 19, 2006
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 551 first stage; Centaur second stage;
STAR 48B solid rocket third stage
Location: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Trajectory: To Pluto and the Kuiper Belt via Jupiter Gravity
Assist
Mission Overview
================
The New Horizons Kuiper Belt Extended Mission is a mission to a
recently discovered, unexplored region of the solar system, the
Kuiper Belt. The centerpiece of the mission is a close flyby of
Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) 2014 MU69 (Arrokoth). The mission will also
aggressively survey the KB using NH as an observatory, examining many
other Kuiper Belt Objects and Centaurs while studying the Kuiper Belt
dust, gas, plasma, and energetic particle environments. Doing so
will place both 2014 MU69 and the Pluto system in better context
among Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), increasing scientific understanding
of both.
Mission Design
==============
The New Horizons spacecraft trajectory was designed to optimize the
earliest possible Pluto fly-by. Post-Pluto modifications of the
trajectory were limited by the need to conserve fuel. A campaign to
discover suitable Kuiper Belt Objects within the cone of possible
New Horizons trajectory changes revealed five candidates.
In June, 2016, based on the 2016 Planetary Mission Senior Review
Panel report, NASA directed the New Horizons extended mission to
plan for continued operations through fiscal year 2021. The New
Horizons extended mission included a visit to a Kuiper Belt
Object known as 2014 MU69. The spacecraft passed 2014 MU69 with
closest approach on Jan 1, 2019.
As an extended mission to a target of opportunity, design options
for the New Horizons Kuiper Belt Extended Mission were limited.
2014 MU69 was observed using the same instruments and procedures
as proved so effective for studying the Pluto system in 2015.
See the New Horizons Mission catalog file for more information on
mission design and target opportunities within the primary mission
phase.
Mission Phases
==============
Summary of mission phases
-------------------------
Mission phases provide convenient handles and approximate time
boundaries to
1) partition the data into very broad categories of mission activity
2) provide approximate time boundaries for PDS archive data sets
The mission is continuous, so the boundaries are very soft i.e. in
an operational sense they do not exist in a noticeable way.
That being the case, the user should not expect the actual range of
times covered by data in this data set to exactly agree with the
boundaries of the corresponding mission phase described below; the
data set time range may be far less or it may overlap the boundaries.
See the New Horizons Mission catalog file for an extended explanation
of mission phases. Some primary mission phases are included in the
table below, for convenience and continuity.
Full MISSION_PHASE_NAME,
Short name Start(1,3) Stop(2,3) plus optional Description
---------- ---------- --------- -------------------------
LAUNCH 2006-01-19 2006-12-31 POST-LAUNCH CHECKOUT
JUPITER 2007-01-01 2007-06-26 JUPITER ENCOUNTER
PLUTOCRUISE 2007-06-27 2015-01-15 PLUTO CRUISE,
Jupiter-Pluto/Charon
Interplanetary Cruise
PLUTO 2015-01-15 2016-10-26 PLUTO ENCOUNTER,
Pluto mission phase,
Pluto/Charon approach,
flyby, post-encounter
KEMCRUISE1 2016-10-26 2018-08-14 CRUISE TO FIRST KBO ENCOUNTER,
Kuiper belt Extended
Mission (KEM) first
cruise
KEM1 2018-08-14 TBD KEM1 ENCOUNTER,
KBO1 ENCOUNTER,
KBO1 approach, flyby,
post-encounter (4)
Notes:
1 Start at 00:00:00 UTC on the spacecraft that day
2 End before 00:00:00 UTC on the spacecraft next day
3 Start and end dates are not exact and identical for all
instruments; some instruments take single observations over several
days which span these mission phase boundaries. Late (re)playbacks
can also require the inclusion of new or modified data files from
an earlier mission phase.
4 These mission phase dates and/or designations are still under
consideration and will most likely change in future versions of this
mission catalog.
The Extended Voyage
-------------------
KEM Cruise1
-----------
Short phase name (in DSID): KEMCRUISE1
Formal mission phase name: CRUISE TO FIRST KBO ENCOUNTER
Mission Phase Start Time - 2016-10-26
Mission Phase Stop Time - 2018-08-14
Activities during the KEMCRUISE1 mission phase to the first KBO
encounter are similar to those for Pluto Cruise phase. They also
include post-Pluto encounter calibrations in mid-2016, along with
continuing download of data from the Pluto encounter.
The name and times chosen for this mission phase are still in flux
and may change in the future.
KEM 1 Encounter
---------------
Short phase name (in DSID): KEM1
Formal mission phase name: KEM1 ENCOUNTER
Mission Phase Start Time - 2018-08-14
Mission Phase Stop Time - TBD
Activities during the extended mission include imaging of distant
Kuiper belt objects throughout the extended mission, a close
encounter with the cold classical Kuiper belt object (486958)
Arrokoth on January 1, 2019, a post-Arrokoth encounter calibration
campaign in mid-2019, continued particle, plasma, and dust
observations, observations testing new flight software developments,
along with download of data from all of these activities. There are
also occasional additional observations as opportunities arise, such
as color observations of Uranus and Neptune, observations of zodiacal
dust, and observations of stars for an outreach-oriented stellar
parallax campaign.
The name and times chosen for this mission phase are still in flux
and may change in the future.
[STERNETAL2019] discusses the initial results from the Arrokoth
flyby.
Mission phases and sub-phases in data products
==============================================
Those general phase descriptions above were implemented slightly
differently in mission data products. A table of data product mission
phase and sub-phase designations follows. Again, primary mission
phases are included for convenience and continuity.
+-------------+-------------+------------+----------+-----------+
| Phase | Sub-phase | UTC | DOY | MET |
+-------------+-------------+------------+----------+-----------+
| CHECKOUT | | 2006-01-16 | 2006-016 | -324483 |
| | LAUNCH | 2006-01-16 | 2006-016 | -324483 |
| JUPITER | | 2007-01-01 | 2007-001 | 29915517 |
| | JUPITER | 2007-01-01 | 2007-001 | 29915517 |
| PLUTOCRUISE | | 2007-06-29 | 2007-180 | 45381117 |
| | PLUTOCRUISE | 2007-06-29 | 2007-180 | 45381117 |
| | ACO1 | 2007-09-24 | 2007-267 | 52897917 |
| | ACO2 | 2008-01-01 | 2008-001 | 61451517 |
| | ACO3 | 2009-01-01 | 2009-001 | 93073917 |
| | ACO4 | 2010-01-01 | 2010-001 | 124609917 |
| | ACO5 | 2011-01-01 | 2011-001 | 156145917 |
| | ACO6 | 2012-01-01 | 2012-001 | 187681917 |
| | ACO7 | 2013-01-01 | 2013-001 | 219304317 |
| | ACO8 | 2014-01-01 | 2014-001 | 250840317 |
| PLUTO | | 2015-01-15 | 2015-015 | 283585917 |
| | AP1 | 2015-01-15 | 2015-015 | 283585917 |
| | AP2 | 2015-04-05 | 2015-095 | 290497917 |
| | AP3 | 2015-06-23 | 2015-174 | 297323517 |
| | CORE | 2015-07-07 | 2015-188 | 298533117 |
| | DP1 | 2015-07-16 | 2015-197 | 299310717 |
| | DP2 | 2015-08-04 | 2015-216 | 300952317 |
| | DP3 | 2015-10-22 | 2015-295 | 307777917 |
| KEMCRUISE1 | | 2016-10-26 | 2016-300 | 339745917 |
| | KEMCRUISE1 | 2016-10-26 | 2016-300 | 339745917 |
| KEM1 | | 2018-08-14 | 2018-226 | 396489600 |
| | KEM1 | 2018-08-14 | 2018-226 | 396489600 |
+-------------+-------------+------------+----------+-----------+
|
| MISSION_OBJECTIVES_SUMMARY |
Group 1 Objectives: Mandatory Science Floor
Characterize the global geology and morphology of 2014 MU69.
Map surface composition of 2014 MU69.
Search for and characterize any satellites and rings of 2014 MU69.
Group 2 Objectives: Highly Desired
Characterize composition and magnitude of any volatile or dust escape
from 2014 MU69.
Characterize near-surface day and night temperatures and bolometric
albedo of 2014 MU69.
Characterize regolith scattering properties of 2014 MU69 and any satellites
and rings.
Determine 2014 MU69 crater size/frequency distributions.
Characterize shapes, rotation rates, and pole positions of a range of
small KBOs.
Search for satellites of a range of small KBOs.
Search for rings of a range of KBOs.
Group 3: Desirable
2014 MU69 solar wind, charged particle, and dust interaction.
2014 MU69 plasma and dust environment (near 42-46 AU).
Determine bulk parameters (mass, density) of 2014 MU69.
Characterize the dust, neutral gas, solar wind, and energetic particle
environment across the Kuiper Belt (35-50 AU).
|
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