MASCOT ON-BOARD COMPUTER BASED ON SPACEWIRE LINKS

The general concept of the “Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout” (MASCOT) is to provide a small landing system intended to be deployed from a supporting main spacecraft. It is specifically designed to be compatible with JAXA’s Hayabusa 2 (HY2, scheduled for launch in 2014) mission design and the environment given by the target asteroid 1999JU3. The design foresees an OBC for gathering, processing, compressing and storing of the scientific payload and the housekeeping data and to run system and subsystem tasks

Supporting Communication for Deaf People with Sign Language Recognition Using Deep Learning Approach

Sign language recognition (SLR) plays a crucial role in improving communication for deaf individuals. This paper investigates the recognition of sign language through deep learning models based on action features using Skeleton data from the Argentinian Sign Language (LSA64) dataset. The models explored include Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP) Neural Network, and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM). The MLP Neural Network, utilizing multiple layers of perceptrons, reached an accuracy of 96.10%. The LSTM model, excelling in processing sequential data, attained the highest accuracy at 98.60%. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of deep learning models in sign language recognition, with LSTM showing the most promise due to its ability to effectively capture temporal dynamics. Consequently, this study opens up prospects for applying sign language recognition technology in practice, contributing to enhancing the quality of life for deaf individuals

Small body landings - The journeys of the micro-lander »Philae« to comet 67P/C.-G. and »MASCOT« to asteroid 1999JU3/Ryugu

This lecture talk summarizes the historic journeys of the micro-lander »Philae« (onboard ESA Rosetta) to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and »MASCOT« (onboard JAXA Hayabusa 2) to asteroid 1999JU3/Ryugu.It provides insight into the beginnings and ideas behind these probes and outlines the long path from conceptual design, building and testing towards actually flying them.Lessons-learned from These missions are provided together with several reference for further Background study

Next generation of mascot nano-landers for the multiple neo rendezvous mission: A self-transferring lander for the ’Sousveillance' of NEOs for space exploration, planetary defence or resource utilisation

This is an exciting time for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Exploration as we get closer to finding answers to many important questions on how the Solar System was formed, how life arrived on Earth and how the vastly unknown Small Solar System Bodies (SSSBs) behave. In the next three years we will see the return of asteroid samples by the HAYABUSA2 and the OSIRIS-REx missions and the launch of the NEA SCOUT, PSYCHE, LUCY, DART and HERA missions. Yet the NEA classifications are not exhaustive and each new asteroid provides its unique challenges. Thus, an on-site study via nano-landers has multi-fold advantages as they can provide a detailed scientific analysis and can lay the foundation for In-situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) missions by the selection and geo-spatial mapping of the target site and by the testing of the relevant technology demonstration. Until now nano-landers have been deployed from an altitude of 40-100 meters. This paper aims to exploit the high vantage point of small spacecraft technology to study micro-gravity bodies by proposing a self-transferring, highly integrated nano-lander that can be deployed at ten to hundred-fold higher altitudes than before. It is a successor of MASCOT - the DLR-CNES nano-lander aboard HAYABUSA2 that successfully operated on (162173) Ryugu in 2018. An exciting prospect for future MASCOTs is a Multiple-NEO Rendezvous (MNR) mission by a Solar-Sailing spacecraft. A previous GOSSAMER based study proves the feasibility of a ten-year mission that could deploy five MASCOTs to five asteroids in hundred days. This paper goes one step further and equips the nano-landers with minimalistic self-transfer GNC and Propulsion systems thereby enhancing the multiple target mission returns while conforming to the nano-spacecraft's system design constraints. Additionally, a software-in-the-loop mission design and a Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis have been done to prove its capability to land on the moon of binary asteroid systems that are critical target bodies for the development of planetary defence technology. The proposed MASCOT-variant can have a customised payload for individual target bodies. This system can hence pave way to a new generation of intelligent yet simple landers that can help in all the fields of NEO studies such as reconnaissance missions preceding human exploration or asteroid mining missions. Looking at how many extra miles a self-transfer MASCOT could scout ahead, the mission parameters are outlined for an added in-situ exploration capability which is simultaneously relaxing the requirements on and de-risking the operations of its main spacecraft

MASCOT’s in situ analysis of asteroid Ryugu in the context of regolith samples and remote sensing data returned by Hayabusa2

The Hayabusa2 mission provided a unique data set of asteroid Ryugu that covers a wide range of spatial scale from the orbiter remote sensing instruments to the returned samples. The MASCOT lander that was delivered onto the surface of Ryugu aimed to provide context for these data sets by producing in situ data collected by a camera (MasCam), a radiometer (MARA), a magnetometer (MasMag) and a spectrometer (MicrOmega). In this work, we evaluate the success of MASCOT as an integrated lander to bridge the gap between orbiter and returned sample analysis. We find that MASCOT’s measurements and derivatives thereof, including the rock morphology, colour in the visible wavelengths, possible meteorite analogue, density, and porosity of the rock at the landing site are in good agreement with those of the orbiter and the returned samples. However, it also provides information on the spatial scale (sub-millimetres to centimetres) at which some physical properties such as the thermal inertia and reflectance undergo scale-dependent changes. Some of the in situ observations such as the presence of clast/inclusions in rocks and the absence of fine particles at the landing site was uniquely identified by MASCOT. Thus, we conclude that the delivery of an in situ instrument like MASCOT provides a valuable data set that complements and provides context for remote sensing and returned sample analyses

The impact of sustainable finance and agriculture growth on poverty alleviation : the role of digital agriculture in Vietnam

The challenges posed by high population and poverty levels require the focused attention of researchers and policymakers. This article examines the effects of sustainable finance, agricultural growth, and digital agriculture on poverty reduction in Vietnam. The study used population growth as the control variable in order to make predictions about poverty alleviation. The article utilised secondary data obtained from reputable sources like the World Development Indicators (WDI) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), spanning the years 1991 to 2022. The article employed the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (DARDL) model to analyse the relationship between various constructs. The findings indicate that sustainable finance, agriculture growth, and digital agriculture are positively correlated with poverty alleviation in Vietnam, while population growth shows a negative correlation. The study offers guidance to regulators on how to address poverty through sustainable finance, agricultural growth, and digital agriculture.Ho Thi Hien (Nghe An University of Economics (NAUE)), Nguyen Cong Tiep (Viet Nam National University of Agriculture (VNUA)), Nguyen Thi Luong (School of Economics, Can Tho University (CTU)), Dao Thu Tra (Hong Duc University (HDU)), Nguyen Xuan Diep (Thai Nguyen University of Economics and Business Administration (TUEBA)), Tran Ba Uan (Dien Bien College of Economics and Technologies (DCET)), Vuong Thi Khanh Huyen (Viet Nam National University of Agriculture (VNUA))Includes bibliographical reference

Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) - Design, Development and Delivery of a Small Asteroid Lander Aboard Hayabusa2

MASCOT is a small asteroid lander launched on December 3rd, 2014, aboard the Japanese HAYABUSA2 asteroid sample-return mission towards the 980 m diameter C-type near-Earth asteroid (162173) 1999 JU3. MASCOT carries four full-scale asteroid science instruments and an uprighting and relocation device within a shoebox-sized 10 kg spacecraft; a complete lander comparable in mass and volume to a medium-sized science instrument on interplanetary missions. Asteroid surface science will be obtained by: MicrOmega, a hyperspectral near- to mid-infrared soil microscope provided by IAS; MASCAM, a wide-angle Si CMOS camera with multicolour LED illumination unit; MARA, a multichannel thermal infrared surface radiometer; the magnetometer, MASMAG, provided by the Technical University of Braunschweig. Further information on the conditions at or near the lander‘s surfaces is generated as a byproduct of attitude sensors and other system sensors. MASCOT uses a highly integrated, ultra-lightweight truss-frame structure made from a CFRP-foam sandwich. It has three internal mechanisms: a preload release mechanism, to release the structural preload applied for launch across the separation mechanism interface; a separation mechanism, to realize the ejection of MASCOT from the semi-recessed stowed position within HAYABUSA2; and the mobility mechanism, for uprighting and hopping. MASCOT uses semi-passive thermal control with Multi-Layer Insulation, two heatpipes and a radiator for heat rejection during operational phases, and heaters for thermal control of the battery and the main electronics during cruise. MASCOT is powered by a primary battery during its on-asteroid operational phase, but supplied by HAYABUSA2 during cruise for check-out and calibration operations as well as thermal control. All housekeeping and scientific data is transmitted to Earth via a relay link with the HAYABUSA2 main-spacecraft, also during cruise operations. The link uses redundant omnidirectional UHF-Band transceivers and patch antennae on the lander. The MASCOT On-Board Computer is a redundant system providing data storage, instrument interfacing, command and data handling, as well as autonomous surface operation functions. Knowledge of the lander’s attitude on the asteroid is key to the success of its uprighting and hopping function. The attitude is determined by a threefold set of sensors: optical distance sensors, photo electric cells and thermal sensors. A range of experimental sensors is also carried. MASCOT was build by the German Aerospace Center, DLR, with contributions from the French space agency, CNES. The system design, science instruments, and operational concept of MASCOT will be presented, with sidenotes on the development of the mission and its integration with HAYABUSA2

A family concept for small body lander structures based on MASCOT

The DLR Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) is an approx. 10 kg shoebox-sized lander platform developed for the Japanese HAYABUSA2 Asteroid Mission. MASCOT landed at 3. October 2018 on to the asteroid Ryugu (formerly 1999 JU3) where it conducted in-situ experiments partially autonomously and for more than two asteroid days (17 hrs) at two different locations. After MASCOT, several direct follow-on studies were performed, for example MASCOT2 for the AIDA/AIM mission proposal, the ALDERAAN proposal and currently MASCOT3 for a potential Apophis lander in the frame of the RAMSES mission. The goal of this paper is to outline the structural development and peculiarities of various small body landing systems based on MASCOT. Apart from the lander itself, also different interface structures designs are presented. In detail, the paper discusses the structural design variations and how the design was adjusted over time in order to respect the corresponding sets of given mission as well as system requirements. The paper concludes with the presentation of family concept for small body lander structures for landing systems of approx. 10-30 kg. Such a family concept is adaptable to a range of mission scenarios and can be mounted piggy-back to various mother spacecrafts