The search for extra-terrestrial life has long fascinated humanity, with Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, emerging as a prime candidate due to hydrothermal activity and methane detected in its South Pole plumes by the Cassini mission. The ELMO orbiter is designed to explore Enceladus, searching for biosignatures, mapping its surface, and relaying data from two hopper vehicles deployed on the Saturnian moon. Carrying five scientific payload instruments, the orbiter must meet strict constraints, including a total mission cost of $750 million USD and compatibility with the Ariane 64 launcher. The spacecraft provides 6000 m/s Delta-V through a two-stage design: a main orbiter (3400 m/s) and a kick stage (2600 m/s). It also features an 85 m^2 solar array for power generation and a dual-band communication system to handle high data acquisition requirements (15% of operations time).

The lightweight truss structure, made of low-density composites, incorporates MLI for thermal regulation and multiple radiation-shielded electronics vaults. The fixed high-gain antenna ensures efficient Earth communication at Ka, X, and S bands. Weighing 13400 kg at launch, ELMO's innovative design cannot comply with the launch requirements, and it is therefore advised to perform further studies to re-evaluate the mission. ... Read more