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Canadian Workshop On Micro-penetrator for Planetary Exploration
- General Information
- Time and Location
- Steering Committee
- Looking for Speakers
- Workshop Schedule
- Contact Us
General Information
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is pleased to announce a Workshop on Micro-Penetrator for Planetary Exploration to be held February 2-3, 2012 at the Canadian Space Agency’s John H. Chapman Space Centre.
A micro-penetrator could be proposed as an alternative planetary lander technology to rovers for future robotic planetary exploration. It would substantially expand Canada’s exploration platform capabilities to include on-demand mission opportunities as “deployable” instruments on orbiters. The micro-penetrator has the capacity to adapt to different planetary environments and offers opportunities for modest in-situ exploration of the Moon, Mars, asteroids, outer planets and their moons (such as Europa, Enceladus and Titan) of interest to the Canadian scientific community. Their advantages include low mass, ease of deployment, good mechanical contact with the surface, and a temperature-stable and radiation protected environment. The micro-penetrator in conjunction with a suite of Canadian micro-instruments would expand the scientific data return beyond that achievable from an orbiter mission alone. The Canadian micro-penetrator would become a pioneer in the exploration of new areas on extraterrestrial solid bodies of the Solar system that have never been visited and cannot be explored by other means. This workshop provides an opportunity for representatives from government, industry, and academia to gain information and knowledge of science and technologies related to micro-penetrator, and to share and explore ideas of how to use micro-penetrators for Canadian planetary exploration.
The aim of the workshop includes:
To inform the Canadian planetary exploration community about micro-penetrators and the possible planetary missions by a micro-penetrator;
To present the state-of-the-art of micro-penetrator related technologies;
To present the results of a Canadian micro-penetrator feasibility study and a mission concept;
To discuss and explore among the Canadian planetary exploration community possible Canadian micro-penetrator missions and technologies for planetary exploration, including mission concept, target planetary bodies, science, instrument, and needed technologies;
To explore the idea of a Canadian consortium of micro-penetrator.
Time and Location
This workshop on Micro-penetrator for Planetary Exploration will be held February 2-3, 2012 at the Canadian Space Agency's John H. Chapman Space Centre.
If you would like to be included in the workshop mailing list, please send an email to the following address: Micropen2012@asc-csa.gc.ca
Steering Committee
Wanping Zheng, Michaela Skulinova, Mireille Bedirian (Canadian Space Agency)
Alex Ellery (Carleton University)
Ed Cloutis (University of Winnipeg)
Lyle Whyte (McGill University)
Looking for Speakers
We solicit short presentations in the following areas:
Planetary science
Micro instrument
Mission concepts and flight opportunities
Subsystem technologies such power, communications, thermal, electronics packaging, high impact survivability, and etc.
Workshop Schedule
Day 1 – 2 February 2012
| Time | Schedule |
|---|---|
| 8:00 - 9:00 | Registration and information |
| 9:00 - 9:10 | Welcome note and opening address
Dr. David Kendall
|
| 9:10 - 9:20 | Logistic, Security and Program
Dr. Wanping Zheng
|
| Keynote Speeches | |
| 9:20 - 10:05 | The History and Future of Planetary Penetrators: a Niche or a Chimera
Dr. Ralph Lorenz |
| 10:05 - 10:50 | Micro-penetrator activities in the UK
Dr. Rob Gowen
|
| 10:50 - 11:05 | Coffee break |
| 11:05 - 11:50 | NASA Plans for future Exploration of Enceladus and Europa
Dr. John Spencer
|
| Session 1: Micro-penetrator Science and Technology (1)
Chair: Dr. Alex Ellery, Associate Professor, Carleton University |
|
| 11:50 - 12:20 | Overview of Potential Astrobiology Targets for Micro-penetrator Missions
Dr. Lyle Whyte
|
| 12:20 - 13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 - 14:00 | The Martian Subsurface - Potential Science Return from Penetrators
Dr. Edward Cloutis
|
| 14:00 - 14:30 | Technical Readiness of Japanese Lunar Penetrator and its Application to the Planetary Exploration
Dr. Hiroaki Shiraishi
|
| 14:30 - 15:00 | Simulation of Micro-penetrator Impact into Planetary Regolith Using Low Pressure Light-gas Gun Technology
Dr. John Spray
|
| 15:00 - 15:30 | Miniaturized Fibre-optic Sensor Technologies for Micro-Penetrators
Dr. Roman Kruzelecky
|
| 15:30 - 15:45 | Coffee break |
| Session 2:
Micro-penetrator Science and Technology (2)
Chair: Dr. Edward Cloutis, Professor, University of Winnipeg |
|
| 15:45 - 16:15 | Penetration Simulations at DRDC Valcartier
Dr. Grant McIntosh
|
| 16:15 - 16:45 | Experimentation in Penetration Mechanics at DRDC Valcartier
Ms. Alexandra Sirois
|
| 16:45 - 17:15 | Autonomous Guidance and Control on Space Vehicles
Dr. Jean de Lafontaine
|
| 17:15 - 17:45 | Exploration on Saturn’s Moons by Micro-Penetrators using Multiple Swing-bys
Dr. Jinjun Shan
|
| 17:45 - 19:00 | Cocktail |
Day 2 – 3 February 2012
| Time | Schedule |
|---|---|
| 8:00 - 8:45 | Registration and information |
| Session 3: Micro-penetrator Missions and Concepts
Chair: Dr. Wanping Zheng, Manager Space Structures, CSA |
|
| 8:45 - 9:15 | Canadian Space Exploration Program
Dr. Jean-Claude Piedboeuf
|
| 9:15 - 10:00 | Canadian Perspective of Micro-penetrator Missions
Dr. Alex Ellery
|
| 10:00 - 10:30 | CSA Micro-penetrator Feasibility Study
Dr. Michaela Skulinova
|
| 10:30 - 10:45 | Coffee break |
| Session 4: Open Forum
Chair: Dr. Wanping Zheng, Manager Space Structures, CSA |
|
| 10:45 - 12:30 | Discussion |
Contact Us
If you have any questions, you can write to us using the following email address: Micropen2012@asc-csa.gc.ca
The Micro-penetrator Workshop Committee.
