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GETEMME—a mission to explore the Martian satellites and the fundamentals of solar system physics

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Abstract

GETEMME (Gravity, Einstein’s Theory, and Exploration of the Martian Moons’ Environment), a mission which is being proposed in ESA’s Cosmic Vision program, shall be launched for Mars on a Soyuz Fregat in 2020. The spacecraft will initially rendezvous with Phobos and Deimos in order to carry out a comprehensive mapping and characterization of the two satellites and to deploy passive Laser retro-reflectors on their surfaces. In the second stage of the mission, the spacecraft will be transferred into a lower 1500-km Mars orbit, to carry out routine Laser range measurements to the reflectors on Phobos and Deimos. Also, asynchronous two-way Laser ranging measurements between the spacecraft and stations of the ILRS (International Laser Ranging Service) on Earth are foreseen. An onboard accelerometer will ensure a high accuracy for the spacecraft orbit determination. The inversion of all range and accelerometer data will allow us to determine or improve dramatically on a host of dynamic parameters of the Martian satellite system. From the complex motion and rotation of Phobos and Deimos we will obtain clues on internal structures and the origins of the satellites. Also, crucial data on the time-varying gravity field of Mars related to climate variation and internal structure will be obtained. Ranging measurements will also be essential to improve on several parameters in fundamental physics, such as the Post-Newtonian parameter β as well as time-rate changes of the gravitational constant and the Lense-Thirring effect. Measurements by GETEMME will firmly embed Mars and its satellites into the Solar System reference frame.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Planetary Research, Rutherfordstraße 2, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Jürgen Oberst, Kai Wickhusen, Andreas Pasewaldt, Marita Wählisch & Harald Hoffmann

  2. Technical University Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Konrad Willner

  3. Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides (IMCCE), Paris Observatory, Paris, France

    Valéry Lainey, Nicolas Rambaux & Benoît Noyelles

  4. Système de Référence Temps-Espace (SYRTE), Paris Observatory, Paris, France

    Christophe Le Poncin-Lafitte & Philippe Laurent

  5. Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB), Brussels, Belgium

    Veronique Dehant & Pascal Rosenblatt

  6. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, Germany

    Stephan Ulamec & Jens Biele

  7. German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

    Jörn Spurmann & Ralph Kahle

  8. Kayser-Threde GmbH, Munich, Germany

    Volker Klein

  9. Wettzell Observatory, Wettzell, Germany

    Ulrich Schreiber & Anja Schlicht

  10. French National Aerospace Research Center, Chatillon, France

    Bernard Foulon

  11. Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI), Moscow, Russia

    Alexander Zakharov

  12. Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE), Dwingeloo, and Department of Astrodynamics and Space Missions, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

    Leonid Gurvits

  13. Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK), Moscow, Russia

    Denis Uchaev

  14. Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), Laurel, MD, USA

    Scott Murchie & Cheryl Reed

  15. Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA, USA

    Slava G. Turyshev

  16. Innovating Solutions, GMV Madrid, Spain

    Jesus Gil & Mariella Graziano

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  1. Jürgen Oberst
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Correspondence to Jürgen Oberst.

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Oberst, J., Lainey, V., Poncin-Lafitte, C.L. et al. GETEMME—a mission to explore the Martian satellites and the fundamentals of solar system physics. Exp Astron 34, 243–271 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-012-9307-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10686-012-9307-0

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