Verification of detection mechanism and design of dust multi-properties analyzer onboard Tianwen-2
Abstract
The dust multi-properties analyzer (DMA), a vital scientific payload onboard the Tianwen-2 mission, is capable of non-intrusively detecting various characteristics of dust emitted by active asteroid 311P. The data obtained from these detections will provide significant references for researches on the origins, formation, activity mechanisms of active asteroid 311P, as well as on its relationship with other comet-asteroid transitional objects. The DMA is designed to continuously conduct detections orbiting active asteroid 311P. The scientific data of DMA will provide first-hand reliable input for asteroid-related scientific research. This study focuses on the introduction of the detection mechanism, functional design, ground calibration and verification, and scientific data of the DMA.
