Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube, IPA:[ˈli.t͡ʃi.əˌkjuːb][4]) is a six-unit CubeSat of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). LICIACube is a part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and carries out observational analysis of the Didymos asteroid binary system after DART's impact on Dimorphos. It communicates directly with Earth, sending back images of the ejecta and plume of DART's impact as well as having done asteroidal study during its flyby of the Didymos system from a distance of 56.7 km (35.2 mi), 165 seconds after DART's impact.[5] LICIACube is the first purely Italian autonomous spacecraft in deep space. Data archiving and processing is managed by the Mission Control Center of Argotec. Mission ended sometime in the autumn of 2022[1]
History
LICIACube is the first deep space mission developed and autonomously managed by an Italian team. To collaborate upon the design, integration, and testing of the CubeSat, the Italian Space Agency selected the aerospace company Argotec, while the LICIACube GS has a complex architecture based on a mission control center in Turin hosted by Argotec and science operation center in Rome. Antennas of the NASA Deep Space Network (NASA DSN) and data archiving and processing is managed at the ASI SSDC. The scientific team making this cubesat is led by National Institute of Astrophysics INAF (OAR, IAPS, OAA, OAPd, OATs) with the support of IFAC-CNR and Parthenope University of Naples. The team is supported by the University of Bologna for orbit determination and satellite navigation and the Polytechnic University of Milan, for mission analysis and optimisation. The LICIACube team includes the wider Italian scientific community involved in the definition of all the aspects of the mission: trajectory design; mission definition (and real-time orbit determination during operations); impact, plume and imaging simulation, and modelling, in preparation of a suitable framework for the analysis and interpretation of in situ data. Major technological challenges during the mission (autonomous targeting and imaging of such a small body during a fast flyby with the limited resources of a CubeSat) is affordable thanks to cooperation between the mentioned teams in support of the engineering tasks.
Satellite design
In order to deal with the mission, the Argotec platform uses an autonomous attitude control system, two light solar arrays, an integrated propulsion system with thrusters of 50mN thrust and isp of 40s,[6] two cameras, an X-band communication system, and an advanced on-board computer.
Scientific payload
LICIACube is equipped with two optical cameras for conducting asteroidal reconnaissance during flyby, dubbed LEIA (LICIACube Explorer Imaging for Asteroid), a Catadioptric camera, a narrow field of view (FoV) of 2.06°, 25 microradian/pixel, 2048x2048 pixels, monochrome, achieving a best resolution of 1.38 m/pix at closest approach) camera, and LUKE (LICIACube Unit Key Explorer), a wide 5° FoV imaging camera with an RGB Bayer pattern infrared filter. These captured scientific data revealing the composition of the asteroid and provided data for its autonomous system by finding and tracking the asteroid throughout the encounter. As it was released when DART sped up for its intentional impact, it took an image every 6 seconds during DART's impact period. It had preliminary flyby targets including taking 3 high resolution images revealing the asteroid's morphology concentrating on the physics of the asteroid and plume generations after impact. This may help characterise the consequences of the impact.[7]
Mission profile
Launch
LICIACube was manufactured in Italy and sent to Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of Johns Hopkins University in September 2021. On 8 September 2021, the LICIACube was integrated into the DART spacecraft for launch on 24 November 2021, at 06:21:02 UTC, inside a spring-loaded box placed on the wall of the DART spacecraft.
Goals
LICIACube's goals are to:
Document the effect of DART's impact on the secondary member of the 65803 Didymos binary asteroid system
Characterise the shape of the target
Perform dedicated scientific investigations on it
Cruise phase and flyby
LICIACube Activities Animated clips of LICIACube deployment and subsequent flyby following DART's kinetic impact
After the launch, the Cubesat remained enclosed within a spring-loaded box and piggybacks with the DART spacecraft for almost the entire duration of DART's mission. It separated on 11 September 2022 from DART by being ejected at roughly 4 km/h (1.1 m/s; 2.5 mph) relative to DART, 15 days before impact.[8] After release, as part of the testing process to calibrate the miniature spacecraft and its cameras, LICIACube captured images of a crescent Earth and the Pleiadesstar cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters.[9]
DART impact seen by LICIACube
It conducted 3 orbital manoeuvrers for its final trajectory, which flew it past Dimorphos about 2 minutes 45 seconds after DART’s impact. That slight delay allowed LICIACube to confirm impact, observe the plume’s evolution, potentially capture images of the newly formed impact crater, and view the opposite hemisphere of Dimorphos that DART never saw, while drifting past the asteroid.[10][11][12][13]
Mission after flyby
After the flyby, it spent a few weeks sending the data back to Earth. Potential targets were selected for an extended mission, including asteroid 14827 Hypnos (1986 JK) on 3 June 2024.[14]
Results
Photo taken by LICIACube of the ejecta from the DART impact.
Several images have been transmitted to Earth showing rays of impact debris streaming from Dimorphos.[15]
On 28 September 2022, the first images of the impact from the LICIACube probe were published on a NASA web page.[16]
Gallery
Artist's illustration of DART and LICIACube at the Didymos system
Infographic of the effects of DART's impact on the orbit of Dimorphos and the deployment of LICIACube.
LICIACube CubeSat integrating on DART spacecraft
LICIACube CubeSat integrated on DART spacecraft.
DART spacecraft with LICIACube protruding on centre left
DART mating to payload adapter, LICIACube visible at centre
Falcon 9 launch vehicle's payload fairing being attached to NASA's DART spacecraft (LICIACube visible) on 16 November 2021.
^Gunter D. Krebs. "LICIACube". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
^"Horizons System". ssd.jpl.nasa.gov. NASA / JPL. Retrieved 7 August 2024. To find results, change Target Body to "LICIACube", Center to "@Sun", and Time Span to include "2022-09-27".
^E. Fahnestock; Y. Yu; A. F. Cheng (2018). "DART Impact Ejecta Simulation and Visualization for Fly-Along CubeSat Operational Planning". AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 2018: P51A–07. Bibcode:2018AGUFM.P51A..07F.
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
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