The discovery of exoplanets at the end of the 20th century has fueled the curiosity of scientists, researchers and avid space enthusiasts and given rise to a host of questions. Among these questions are whether these planets bear similar geological features to those in our solar system and have the potential to support life. To find answers to the multitude of questions, NASA has awarded the university laboratory a semester long grant to perform a paper study design of the first potential mission to an exoplanet.
The exoplanet selected for the mission is Epsilon Eridani. At 10.5 light years away, Epsilon Eridani is the nearest populated star system to the solar system. This distance is ambitious, both from a travel and communications perspective. Given existing technology options, the space probe is expected to take many centuries to arrive at the exoplanet. Once there, the objective of the mission is to transmit high-resolution images back to Earth. This image data about the exoplanet is expected to provide scientists with a wealth of information, which hopefully will answer a number of questions about the universe. Despite the failures of Deep Space probes 1 through 8, we believe our team is much more capable than the previous engineering teams.
Design Overview
Deep Space 9 is an interplanetary spacecraft that will travel from Earth to Epsilon Eridani over a period of 10,000 years in order to provide images of the exoplanet. The satellite will be powered with a Hall effect thruster fueled by xenon gas. Solar cells and radioisotope thermal generators (RTGs) will be used to power the engine and electronics on the spacecraft and provide heat to maintain their reliability. It will transmit these images back to Earth with a EPERI camera using a folding antenna that will be deployed upon reaching Epsilon Eridani. Deep Space 9 will also transmit a low frequency tracking signal throughout its voyage to allow controllers on Earth to monitor its progress and its orbital position once it arrives at its destination.
Star Map
A map of stars near our sun. Epsilon Eridani is our destination.
