Tauri and Gravisat to Model Gravity Field of Apophis Asteroid
We are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking collaboration between Tauri and Gravisat to create a detailed model of the gravity field of the Apophis asteroid.
In this innovative partnership, Tauri will integrate Gravisat’s unique gravity measurement payload into the first exploration mission to Apophis in 2029 enabled by Tauri's first spacecraft Tauri Explorer. Gravisat’s pioneering relativistic gravimeter payload will facilitate the creation of a dynamic gravity field model of the asteroid, providing unprecedented insights into its composition and internal structure which is critical for planning future mining operations.
This mission will mark the first time relativistic gravimetry is tested in space, delivering high-resolution gravitational data that is crucial for asteroid exploration missions, including Tauri Space planned mission to asteroid 1986 DA.
How relativistic gravimeter works:
1. Generated radio signal is used as an electromagnetic emission source, which is received by the built-in antenna.
2. From the antenna through the cable, the signal goes to the splitter where it is divided into two absolutely identical signals.
3. Both signals go through the cable to two receivers, which are separated by an already known distance in height.
4. From the receivers, both signals go to the comparator, where the gravitational frequency shift is measured by the differential method.
5. The changed values of the frequency and measurement time are sent to the computation module, where the value of the free fall acceleration is calculated, which is tied to the time and coordinates.
6. The operation of all devices is synchronised and stabilised using a frequency standard to calculate the value of the free fall acceleration precisely.
About Tauri Explorer:
Tauri Explorer will be the first private geological exploration space vehicle to be developed in-house, in collaboration with leading companies in geological equipment manufacturing and space technology. It will carry a unique payload to the Apophis asteroid, including a machine vision system, radar, magnetometric and gravimetric instruments, and multispectral and hyperspectral cameras. This payload will conduct a detailed chemical structure analysis of the Apophis asteroid in preparation for the upcoming mission to asteroid 1986DA.