Mission analysis for the HENON CubeSat mission to a large Sun-Earth distant retrograde orbit

• Published in: Astrophysics and space science Vol. 370; no. 8; p. 83
• Main Authors: Cicalò, Stefano, Alessi, Elisa Maria, Provinciali, Lorenzo, Amabili, Paride, Saita, Giorgio, Calcagno, Davide, Marcucci, Maria Federica, Laurenza, Monica, Zimbardo, Gaetano, Landi, Simone, Walker, Roger, Khan, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.08.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Approximation; Astrobiology; Astronomy; Astrophysics and Astroparticles; Attitude control; Charged particles; Cosmic rays; Cosmology; Cubesat; Deep space; Earth; Earth motion; Electric propulsion; Energetic particles; Forecasting; Gravitational fields; Hirsch index; Magnetic fields; Observations and Techniques; Orbits; Payloads; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Propulsion systems; Radiation; Radiation monitoring; Real time; Retrograde orbits; Robust control; Space Exploration and Astronautics; Space missions; Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics; Space weather; Spacecraft; Sun; Telemetry; Time measurement; Velocity; Space weather; CubeSat; Distant retrograde orbit; Low-thrust
• ISSN: 0004-640X; 1572-946X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10509-025-04473-0

The HEliospheric pioNeer for sOlar and interplanetary threats defeNce (HENON) mission is a CubeSat Space Weather mission, designed to operate in a Sun-Earth Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) at more than 10 million km from the Earth. HENON will embark payloads tailored for Space Weather (SWE) observations, i.e., a high-resolution energetic particle radiation monitor, a Faraday cup, and a magnetometer enabling it to provide quasi-real-time monitoring of the interplanetary conditions in deep space. HENON has many important goals, such as demonstrating CubeSat capabilities in deep space, including long-duration electric propulsion with periodic telemetry and command, and robust attitude control for deep-space operations. It will pave the way for a future fleet of spacecraft on DROs, providing continuous near real-time measurements for SWE forecasting. This paper focuses on the mission analysis performed for phase A/B, with the main goal of defining a baseline transfer trajectory to a heliocentric DRO in co-orbital motion with the Earth. The proposed transfer leverages a rideshare opportunity on a mission escaping Earth’s gravity field, most likely one headed toward the Sun–Earth L 2 region, and relies exclusively on on-board electric propulsion to reach deep space, making it a pioneering demonstration of this approach and the technology. Under appropriate assumptions on the electric propulsion system performances, s/c mass and propellant budget, it will be shown that the HENON target DRO can be reached in about 1 year, taking into account also periodic interruptions of thrusting to allow for Telemetry, Tracking and Command.