In 2030, the first mission of the Russian Transport and Energy Module (TEM, nuclear tug) "Zeus" is planned for deep space flights. Anatoly Petrukovich, director of the Space Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with TASS what kind of scientific plans

In 2030, the first mission of the Russian Transport and Energy Module (TEM, nuclear tug) "Zeus" is planned for deep space flights.

Anatoly Petrukovich, director of the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with Tass news agency what scientific plans Russian scientists are formulating for the spacecraft.

Big Satellite

According to the design, the space tug will be an open structure transportation and energy module. Its main features are the ability to autonomously generate electricity for long periods of time via a megawatt-scale nuclear reactor, and the ability to transport a variety of payloads.

The tug is expected to dock with the payload bay in orbit and begin its mission. They will be launched by the Angara-A5M heavy-lift launch vehicle. The payload module is essentially a complete large module with various equipment and electric jet propulsion system. This is a spacecraft equipped with scientific instruments, onboard memory, radio transmitters and radios, and engines. It only gets power from the tugboat.

Two-way road

Currently, Russian scientists are cooperating with the Arsenal Design Bureau to formulate scientific plans. Petrukovich explained: "So far we have not determined the exact configuration of the entire mission, so we cannot clearly define the goals. But we are considering a range of potential possibilities through which it can be achieved ."

At present, the technical capabilities of the spacecraft are being linked to the wishes of scientists, as to what speed and direction it needs to fly to the celestial body, and what kind of scientific equipment will be carried on board. Design at this stage is a two-way street, we don't just tell you where to go, but optimize the technical parameters and possible scientific tasks to ensure the optimization and success of the entire project.

Scientists have tried to base science missions on nuclear tug capabilities that other spacecraft do not have. The declared power of

is dozens of times the maximum power we can get on ordinary spacecraft or even on space station . Therefore, experiments can require large amounts of energy.

One possible mission is to use radar to photograph the lunar surface based on the working principle of low-Earth orbit radar satellites. Such a scheme is currently under consideration.

Asteroid, move!

One of the nuclear tugs' biggest tasks may be trying to play "pool" with asteroids. Today, humans do not have adequate protection against possible collisions between Earth and dangerous celestial bodies. An international project is currently underway to catalog all asteroids that could threaten our planet. No truly threatening asteroids have been discovered yet.

Shooting towards an asteroid, or why planetary defense is needed?

Every few million years, something falls on the Earth, which we see in the remains of craters on Earth. If an asteroid like this comes along, and we know within a few decades that it's dangerous, then you can do something about it, or, say, move it around a little bit. Let it continue spinning in its orbit, but in a few decades it will pass Earth. Another possible mission is to help asteroids "hook" Earth by transferring from interplanetary to low-Earth orbit.

has positive impact methods, but is more difficult. There are some simple theories that say part of the asteroid should be painted black so it would look different when exposed to sunlight. If an asteroid is white, it will reflect some of the light; if it is black, it will absorb almost all of it. Therefore, the forces acting on the asteroid change slightly, which may help change the orbit slightly.

However, scientists believe that the most promising method is to hit the asteroid with a powerful laser. Petrukovich said: "The laser vaporized part of the asteroid's material, and this jet created a jet thrust, which slightly changed the direction of the asteroid's movement. This is where the unique power of the nuclear tug can come in handy."

This method works for small asteroids. However, this could help influence larger asteroids. "Space billiards has this concept. To remove a large asteroid, you first move a small asteroid, then it encounters a large asteroid and the asteroid is moved by the impact," he added.

The ocean beneath the ice

Scientists have high hopes for using nuclear tugs to study Jupiter and its moons. Currently, spacecraft in this part of the solar system are equipped with very large solar panels , as their power decreases as they move farther away from the sun. Here's where nuclear energy can help fundamentally solve the problem.

Petrukovich said: "We are considering expanding the Jupiter system research program using scientific equipment mounted on nuclear tugs, including detachable probes that could land on one of Jupiter's moons or Analyzing Jupiter's atmosphere using kamikaze methods. "

It is not yet possible to conduct scientific research on all of Jupiter's moons. In particular, the vicinity of the planet is very dangerous due to the radiation belts. As the scientists stress, it is not advisable to take measurements there, at best you can fly over the place very quickly in a semi-closed state. From a scientific point of view, the most interesting satellites are Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

It is thought that there is a warm liquid ocean beneath the thick layer of ice on the surface of Europa , which means there is water and heat. Original organic matter has always existed in the universe. Therefore, there is a theory that Jupiter's moons are the potential origins of primitive life, rather than life on Earth.

However, Petrukovich believes that in order to explore Jupiter and its natural satellites, large spacecraft will be needed.

Great science requires large enough satellites. Once we transitioned to ultra-small vehicles, we immediately lost the scientific measurement quality of most missions. We hope that the results will justify the cost. The space tug is a futuristic vehicle, and the science here is just a showcase for the opportunity it should be.

"One Minute" on Venus

Why might there be life in the clouds of Hell's Venus?

considered several flight trajectories to Jupiter when designing the nuclear tug. One of the hypotheses is gravity maneuvers on Venus. "Now we are studying what can be done with a single flyby of Venus at very high speeds (the greater the speed during the flyby, the more efficient the maneuver).

It is possible to launch a landing probe to Earth's 'neighbor' , it can enter orbit without braking, the expert said: "It would be interesting to launch a probe that would slow down the atmosphere and open the balloon in the atmosphere. The nuclear tug will fly farther, and the probe will be able to use existing spacecraft in orbit around Venus to deliver information. "

No signal from aliens

The Zeus nuclear tug will be able to independently send messages to Earth, but scientists do not plan to use it to send signals into deep space.

So far, ground-based radio telescopes are more capable than those generated in space. The signal. A very large antenna is needed to focus it even from the closest star.

As part of the scientific instrument, experts also provide cameras, various spectrometers and detectors. , used to observe the atmosphere, surface and interplanetary plasma of planets on their flight paths. For us, even taking a photo in the visible light range is more than just a picture, it is very important information about the structure of matter.

The first mission of Zeus is planned for no earlier than 2030. In general, other countries can also participate, he concluded: "In principle, the facility is scientific and open to international cooperation. Open. "