Zodiac Pioneer: an Interplanetary Small Satellite Platform for Asteroid Reconnaissance

One of the next priorities in ESA’s Space Safety Programme related to Planetary Defense is the implementation of class of fast rendezvous satellites to characterize potentially dangerous asteroids. The scientific community and the Agency regularly monitor Near Earth Asteroids. The main objective of the ongoing study is to conceive a small satellite baseline design with high delta-V capability enabling an asteroid scout mission to a wide range of targets. Considering the European framework, the novelty of the architecture of the Zodiac Pioneer deep space platform is the main propulsion system being electric. The rationale is to lower the overall vehicle mass for a given mission, thus enabling the use of lighter and cheaper launch vehicles, or conversely to enable a greater flexibility for target selection, and less rigid launch windows, for a given launch opportunity.