Radio Science Investigations for the Heavy Metal Mission to Asteroid (216) Kleopatra

Abstract

This work presents the simulation results of the radio science experiment onboard the proposed Heavy Metal mission to the M-type asteroid (216) Kleopatra. Earth-based radiometric measurements (range and range-rate), complemented by images from the onboard optical camera and by measurements from the inter-satellite link between the maincraft and a secondary subcraft, are used in an orbit determination process to assess the attainable accuracy for the mass of Kleopatra and its extended gravity field. Preliminary results indicate that the asteroid mass can be retrieved with a relative accuracy up to $10^{-7}$, while the extended gravity field can be estimated up to degree 10 with sufficient accuracy to discriminate between internal structure models, satisfying the scientific goals of the mission.