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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Astron. Space Sci.
Sec. Planetary Science
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fspas.2024.1411703

Simulated Gravity Field Estimation for Deimos Based on Spacecraft Tracking Data

Provisionally accepted
Jianguo Yan Jianguo Yan 1,2*Wenjie Su Wenjie Su 1Shangbiao Sun Shangbiao Sun 1Yongzhang Yang Yongzhang Yang 3Shanhong Liu Shanhong Liu 4Zhen Wang Zhen Wang 5Jean-Pierre Barriot Jean-Pierre Barriot 1
  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
  • 2 Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
  • 3 Yunnan Observatories, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming, Yunnan Province, China
  • 4 Beijing Aerospace Command and Control Center, Beijing, China
  • 5 Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    An accurate gravity field model of Deimos can provide constraints for its internal structure modeling, and offer evidence for explaining scientific issues such as the origin of Mars and its moons, and the evolution of the Solar System. The Japanese Martian Moon Exploration (MMX) mission will be launched in the coming years, with a plan to reach Martian orbit after one year. However, there is a lack of executed missions targeting Deimos and research on high-precision gravity field of Deimos at this stage. In this study, a 20th-degree gravity field model of Deimos was constructed by scaling the gravity field coefficients of Phobos and combining them with an existing low-degree gravity field model of Deimos. Using simulated ground tracking data generated by three stations of the Chinese Deep Space Network, we simulate precise tracking of a spacecraft in both flyby and orbiting scenarios around Deimos, and the gravity field coefficients of Deimos have been concurrently computed. Comparative experiments have been conducted to explore factors affecting the solution, indicating that the spacecraft's orbital altitude, the noise level of observation data, and the ephemeris error of Deimos have a significant impact on the solution results. The results of this study can provide references for planning and implementation of missions targeting Martian moons.

    Keywords: Deimos, Gravity field, Flyby, Orbiting, accuracy

    Received: 03 Apr 2024; Accepted: 24 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yan, Su, Sun, Yang, Liu, Wang and Barriot. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Jianguo Yan, State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.