Consolidated Phase a Design of Asteroid Impact Mission: MASCOT-2 Landing on Binary Asteroid Didymos

The Asteroid Impact Mission (AIM) is a European mission aimed at the exploration of the binary asteroid 65803 Didymos. Among its mission objectives, AIM is planned to release a small and passive probe, called MASCOT-2, to land on the smallest asteroid of the binary couple. The paper presents the modeling strategy adopted to support the design of MASCOT-2 release. The modeling assumptions regarding the dynamical environment of such binary asteroid are discussed. The gravity field around the couple is modeled using shape-based models of the asteroids. A suitable model of the asteroid's surface is used to properly simulate the local interaction between the probe and the soil at touch down. Uncertainties regarding the release accuracy are modeled and results related to the AIM scenario are presented in terms of successful landing probability and final position of the lander at rest.