Farinella Cubesat
Farinella is a CubeSat developed by Tyvak International srl, devoted to the visual inspection and dust detection of Apophis asteroid as it safely pass the Earth.
Main scientific objectives:
• Prove the subsurface and internal properties of Apophis
• Detect and analyze dust around Apophis
Parameters
| Volume | 6U XL CubeSat |
| Dimension | 13 x 24.6 x 36.6 cm |
| Propulsion | Cold-gas propulsion system |
| Communication | S-band inter-satellite link |
| Operative Orbit Range | 11 km to 3 km from Target Asteroid |
| Primary Payload | Low Frquency Radar |
| Secondary Payload | Micro-Thermogravimetre |
| Mass | 12 kg wet |
VISTA II
(Volatile In-Situ Thermogravimetre Analyser)
Vista is a micro-thermogravimetre (sensor head including Proximity Electronics) devoted to detecting the presence of dust particles smaller than 5-10 μm; to detect volatiles (e.g., water) and light organics characterisation (e.g. carboxylic acids with low carbon chain) and monitoring the molecular contamination in support of other instruments on-board cubesat or satellites. VISTA II has been designed with a miniaturised configuration (as an environmental sensor) for cubesat and other instrument packages.
The device is based on micro-oscillators with a detection system made up of piezoelectric crystals with a metal electrode that acts as a collector of micron and sub-micron size particles. An important challenge of VISTA II is the presence of a built-in heater and a built-in Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) integrated onto the crystal. This special design dramatically reduces the instrument mass and the power required to perform thermal cycles to characterise the deposited mass on the sensor head.
Parameters
|
Sensor Type |
Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM)
|
|
Resonance frequency |
10 MHz |
|
Volume |
50mm × 50mm × 38mm |
|
Sensitive area |
1.5cm^2 |
|
Particles size detection range |
5-10 μm to sub-μm particles |
|
Methods/Technique used |
1. Dust and contaminants accumulation (passive mode) 2. TGA cycles (active mode) |
|
Mass |
90g |
Low Frequency Radar
The low frequence radar is essentially a refly of the JuRa onboard the Juventas Cubesat on the Hera mision.
ASPECT: (LxWxH) 128mm x 96mm x 100mm; Mass: 1250g
Inter-Satellite Link (Radio Science)
An Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) will be used for Radio Science, allowing the measurement of Apophis gravity field that cannot be done by RAMSES alone. ISL doppler allows estimating of gravity coefficients to degree 2 and 3. RAMSES-Farinella ISL doppler enables to estimate the extended gravity field of Apophis.
Accelerometers & Gyros
Farinell will eventually land on Apophis and its accelerometers will allow the measurement of the bouncing properties at landing, which will give precious information on the surface mechanical response of the asteroid in its extremely low gravity environment.
Visible camera & star trackers
A visible camera and star trackers give attitude of Farinella that will indicate dynamic variations.