Three missions have been fully designed and simulated: a Cassini-class Neptune orbiter, an HEOMD-scale Mars orbital insertion, and an L2 Earth return and insertion. Magnetoshell Aerocatpure increased payload delivered to Neptune by 75% and most importantly, allows for the dynamic capture as a function of the Neptune atmosphere. For Mars insertion, the primary benefit is mass savings. A 20 MT aeroshell could be replaced with a 2.5 meter Magnetoshell system mass of less than one metric ton. This would save over 20 MT of launched propellant per launch. The Martian insertion was capable of supporting a 60 metric ton payload with the Magnetoshell fitting into a standard faring size. For an L2 to Earth return mission, a 2000 kg payload was decelerated and placed into a LEO orbit. These examples show how a lightweight, high performance, and low risk aerocapture system can yield dramatic improvement for any mission in which requires near-planetary operations and large delta-V maneuvers. Finally, the mission of interest, namely an earth return from an ISS orbit was enabling fast reentry with only a few grams of fuel. In addition to the simple de-orbit mission, phase changes, debris avoidance, and controlled re-entry can all be attained. The technology to be explored under this program would have a wide ranging impact in many fields of scientific research and industry, both in space and on earth. In space, a lightweight aerocapture and aerobraking system would be beneficial for space debris mitigation, ISS crew return, moon return, space station construction, and numerous DOD applications. Further, the study and understanding of the generation of reactive gas magnetized plasmas and their interaction with neutral background gases have practical application for controlled doping for the creation of novel semi-conductor materials, chemical vapor deposition, catalyzed plasma chemistry for biomedical applications, and energy generation and storage technologies. During this mission, the scientific goals will contribute to both active plasma-neutral interaction physics as well as greater magnetospheric planetary dynamics physics.
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