Analysis of small spacecraft Mars aerocapture through a single-event drag modulation

Abstract. In the last years, the scientific interest in Mars exploration has become more and more relevant, driving the development of technologies aimed at improving the current capabilities to land scientific payloads or to insert probes into stable orbits around the planet. In this framework, the use of low-cost small satellites could represent an advantageous solution for both the mission scenarios. In planetary exploration, the aerocapture manoeuvre is considered a promising technique to overcome the limits imposed by specific volume and mass ratio constraints on the design of the propulsion system. Based on these premises, this work focuses on the 2D aerocapture manoeuvre of a small spacecraft equipped with a Deployable Heat Shield (DHS). Specifically, the analysis aims at assessing the aerocapture manoeuvre feasibility exploiting a single shield surface variation.