A particle sensor for a multifunctional membrane solar sail spacecraft Original Research Article

Solar sail missions have been proposed to investigate the outer heliosphere and our galactic neighborhood. Solar sail spacecraft usually consist of a traditional spacecraft bus on which the chemical/electrical propulsion module is replaced by a sail. In this report we describe a solar sail spacecraft where the functions of the spacecraft bus are completely integrated in a multifunctional membrane. For such a multifunctional membrane spacecraft we present here a particle sensor to measure the plasma environment. Using microsystems technology, energy generation, control, communication and sensing are completely integrated in the solar sail. Large solar sail area leads to a large particle collection area.