Mercury orbiter with a solar sail spacecraft

Abstract

A mission to Mercury is discussed, where a solar sail spacecraft with a total mass of about 500 kg delivers a scientific payload of approximately 50 kg to an orbit about Mercury. As knowledge of this planet is very limited, a Mercury orbiter mission is proposed by scientists since many years. The solar sail, a deployable light-weight structure, is used for spiraling to Earth escape, for interplanetary transfer, and orbit capture upon Mercury arrival, while flight times of moderate length are still possible. This strategy allows very low Earth departure and Mercury arrival energies, and can significantly reduce the total mass to be delivered by the Earth-based launch system in comparison to conventional missions using chemical propulsion. Therefore, a low-cost launch option may be considered. Moreover, a sun-synchronous orbit about Mercury can be accomplished with the sail, bearing considerable advantages for the spacecraft's thermal environment and suitable conditions for remote sensing. Solar sails are promising future low-cost transportation systems and may also be used across a wide range of other planetary missions.