The brush wheel sampler — A sampling device for small-body touch-and-go missions

The recent planetary science decadal survey identified sample return from a comet as a major goal of the study of primitive solar system bodies. The survey identified a comet surface sample return mission as one of the candidates for a New Frontiers class mission. A touch-and-go (TAG) mission architecture where the spacecraft would maneuver close to the small body surface, a sampling device on the end of a robotic arm would acquire the sample in a few seconds, and then the spacecraft would retreat from the small body is a suitable architecture to achieve the candidate mission objectives. The brush wheel sampler (BWS) has been shown to be an effective sampling device for possible TAG missions to small bodies. This paper describes the technology development and test results of the BWS over the past several years.