# Presentation: 246671

## USE OF SWARM INTELLIGENCE IN SPACECRAFT CONSTELLATIONS FOR THE RESOURCE EXPLORATION OF THE ASTEROID BELT

- P-1.10, Third International Workshop on Satellite Constellations and Formation Flying, Pisa, Italy, 24-26 February 2003
**S. A. Curtis****1****, M. L. Rilee****2****, P.E. Clark****2**** , and G. C. Marr****1**
**1*****NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA***
**2*****L-3 Communications EER***
***Laboratory for Extraterrestrial Physics, Code 695. e-mail: ***_Steven.A.Curtis@__gsfc__.__nasa__.__gov_***; e-mail: ***_Michael.Rilee@L-3Com.com_***;  e-mail: ***_Pamela.Clark@__gsfc__.__nasa__.__gov_
***Guidance, Navigation, and Control, Flight Dynamics Analysis Branch, Code 572. e-mail: ***_Greg.Marr@__gsfc__.__nasa__.__gov_** **** **

**The Main Belt Asteroids are Central to NASA Themes**
**	****Space Science Origins **
**	****Human Exploration and Development of Space**
**Main Belt Asteroids**
- 	~ 105-106 objects (>1km diameter)
- 	Between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter ( 2.1 AU – 3.3 AU)
- 	Surface of largest 1000 observed asteroids is ~ 70% the area of Mars.
- 	The remainder may dwarf the surface area of the Earth.
**Asteroid Resources**
- 	Refractory (Fe, Ni, Si) materials dominate inner belt
- 	Volatiles (NH4, CH4, H2O) abundant in outer belt
**Asteroid Science**
- 	Wide range of processes and history represented
- 	Processed material and primordial material

**ABSTRACT**
- We describe the Prospecting ANTS Mission (PAM) whose object is to explore the resource potential the Solar System's Asteroid Belt.  The mission, set about 20-30 years in the future, is consistent with the present NASA strategic plan for the HEDS (Human Exploration and Development of Space) enterprise.  In this plan, the automated discovery of space resources is envisioned as a building block for expanding the human presence in space.

- Artist’s Concept of the Prospecting ANTS Mission

- Autonomous
- Nano-
- Technology
- Swarm
- Prospecting
- ANTS
- Mission

**ANTS Mission Architecture**
-    Specialized spacecraft
-       Division of labor
-       Optimal operations
-    Cooperation to achieve mission goals
-       Insect colony analog of social behavior

**Prospecting ANTS Mission**
-    A swarm of specialized spacecraft
-       Single instrument Sciencecraft Workers
-       Messenger/Rulers for Comm & Control
-    Hierarchical Insect-colony analog
-       Swarm-level mission directed behavior
-       Sub-swarm
-          regional coverage, resource sharing
-       Team/Worker-group
-          coordinated science operations
-       Individual behaviors and autonomy
-       Sub-individual, systems & subsystems

**PAM Spacecraft**
-    Highly autonomous
-    Solar sail propulsion
-       *High agility, exceptional control*
-    No consumables
-    Pico-spacecraft ~ 1 kg
-    Constructed at Libration point habitat
-    Mission function optimized
-       Workers: Specialized science
-          Imaging, Spectrometry, Gravimetry
-       Messenger/Rulers
-          Communications & Control
-          Data processing & archival
-          Mission goal & operations mgmt.

**Ants.gsfc.nasa.gov**

_**PAM: Mission Concept 2020-2030**_