Magnetometers are fundamental instruments used in planetary and space science. They are able to measure magnetic fields originating in a planet’s interior, past fields encapsulated in rocks in the crust, as well as magnetic fields generated by the motion of charged particles in the plasma environments of ionospheres, magnetospheres and interplanetary space.

While the vast majority of space debris still stems from explosion events of satellites and rocket upper stages, current forecasts state that collisions, such as those between the Cosmos 2251 and Iridium 33 satellites in 2009, will play a dominant role in the mid-term future when a critical spatial density of satellites has been reached. In order to assess the risks emanating from space debris, a deeper understanding of the formation and residence time of breakup debris in orbit is essential for operational activities.

The shielding mass allocation on high radiation environment missions (e.g. JUICE) can be reduced by the application of full-physics shielding simulations with detailed descriptions of the spacecraft geometry. To deliver savings however, the process has to be deployed across the majority of collaborators from the earliest project phases, through to production and testing. A system will be established in which a design database can be concurrently maintained by collaborating teams and upon which radiation and internal charging effects will be simulated by Monte-Carlo analysis.

The Thales Alenia Space study team completed a 13 month contract to study the feasibility of Active Debris Removal within mega-constellations. Within the Clean Space initiative, ESA searches for proactive answers to the environmental challenges which are faced both on Earth and in space. The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC) has already highlighted the important topic of mega-constellations, which represent a step change in the future space environment due to the proliferation of small satellites.

The objective of this activity was to understand the operational complexity of large mega-constellation systems, and the potential needs to operate these, including the complexity of collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAMs). This objective was achieved by:

In this activity, LSI's Airbus, OHB and Thales Alenia Space evaluated CleanSat technologies.

The main objective of this study 'DETUMBLING – Investigation of Active Detumbling Solutions for Debris Removal' was to propose and investigate a contact-based de-tumbling strategy using a robotic arm. Realistic models were developed for the chaser with robotic-arm, target and composite systems. Specific GNC strategies were developed for the different phases of the mission: robotic-arm deployment synchronisation with the target de-tumbling the composite.

The demise of space debris (e.g. upper stages, satellites, their components) re-entering the atmosphere results in emissions into the atmosphere. Typically, most of the re-entering object mass does not survive the atmospheric transit and ends up being released into the atmosphere under gaseous or particulate forms. Depending on the nature and material composition of reentry debris, a wide range of re-entry gases and particles are released. Some are chemically active, in particular ozone destroying, or/and radiatively active (i.e. climate forcers).