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LightShip (spacecraft)
Planned European interplanetary space tug supporting Mars missions From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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LightShip is a proposed class of uncrewed interplanetary spacecraft under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) that will serve as a space tug for transporting payloads to Mars and provide communication, navigation, and weather monitoring services from a high Mars orbit. It will use its onboard solar electric propulsion to transport other spacecraft to vicinity of Mars and after the payload separates, LightShip will move to a high orbit of nearly 6000 km above the surface to form part of the Mars Communication and Navigation Infrastructure (MARCONI).[1][2][3][4]
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Name
It is named after a lightship—a ship that acts as a lighthouse.[1] ESA specifically cites the East Goodwin lightship whose captain sent the first radio distress signal using Guglielmo Marconi's wireless technology in 1899.[1][5]
Missions
If approved, the first LightShip mission will take place in 2032. Subsequent launch windows open in 2035 and 2037.[1]
LightShip-1 and SpotLight
The first mission of LightShip will deliver a Mars surface-imaging orbiter called SpotLight. Its primary payload will be high resolution and medium-resolution context cameras. SpotLight will separate from LightShip-1 during the interplanetary cruise and enter Martian orbit using its own propulsion. LightShip-1 will then enter into its own operational orbit to demonstrate its MARCONI communications and navigation systems.[3][6][7]
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See also
References
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