SEIMEI: Mission to Search for Life on Enceladus via Small Satellite with Solar Power Sail

<p>The Sail-propelled Explorer to Investigate the Make-up of Enceladus Icy plumes (SEIMEI) is a 340 kg satellite to shed new light on the origins of life in the solar system. The SEIMEI concept is proposed by a team of graduate students from five countries at The University of Tokyo. By contrast with conventional, multi-payload, many-objective deep space missions, SEIMEI is a small low-cost satellite with only a few payloads and focused objectives. SEIMEI's primary mission objective is to sample the plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus via a simple and compact satellite architecture, using two state-of-theart mass spectrometers. The second mission objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of planetary orbit insertion via electric propulsion by solar power sail at Saturn. This paper summarizes the promising results of the SEIMEI concept study. Based on the analysis, SEIMEI will be launched on an HII-A or HIII rocket in 2033, deploy its 600 m² sail, follow a low-thrust trajectory with a gravity assist at Jupiter, and arrive at Saturn in 2044 having consumed around 70 kg of fuel. The paper also presents the online student-led collaborative design methodology adopted in response to the coronavirus pandemic. </p>