DARKO
Dust Analysis and Remote sensing of KOrdylewski dust clouds -Overview of the DARKO mission proposal
Fabrizio Giordano (Student TU Delft)
Punit Naresh Gwalani (Student TU Delft)
E. Pignacca (TU Delft - Astrodynamics & Space Missions)
Elena Tonucci (Student TU Delft)
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Abstract
The Kordylewski Dust Clouds (KDCs) are accumulation of dust particles located in the region of space surrounding the triangular Lagrangian points (L4/L5) of the Earth-Moon system. Despite their proximity to the Earth, the clouds' low density and variable distribution have made them difficult to study. DARKO (Dust Analysis and Remote sensing of KOrdylewski dust clouds) is a mission concept designed to overcome these limitations and bring breakthrough scientific information on the origin of these clouds. Orbiting around the 2 libration points, DARKO will use its imaging polarimeter to observe the changes in distribution and density of the clouds throughout one solar cycle. Moreover, the on-board dust analyser will determine the composition, charge and velocity of the dust particles. To work with both instruments and observe both the clouds, DARKO will orbit around L4 for the first part of the mission, observing with the polarimeter the dynamics of the opposite cloud and performing in-situ measurements with the dust analyser in L4 itself. The same is repeated when the spacecraft is moved in L5 with a transfer orbit. The mission lifetime required is around 7 years, starting around 2033 to ensure the observation of the clouds' variability during the Solar Cycle 26 until its peak.