Investigation of the internal structure of planetary objects has become a high priority for space agencies. Consequently, the potential market for instruments sounding the planetary internal structure is huge. In order to keep and reinforce the European leadership in this field, innovative solutions must be developed and validated.

The main innovations that are developed through this project are to combine rotation and translation measurements, and to improve the performance of planetary seismometers by two orders of magnitude. This is enabled by the use of optical technology in which Europe has a leadership position.

The interior structure of asteroids and planets gives insight into their formation and evolution. This is especially crucial for asteroids that could become a threat to life on Earth. Interior composition and mechanical properties must be known to develop effective countermeasures, and safely perform proximity operations on asteroids with spacecraft.

Our Work

AEIL is in charge of the design and development of the accelerometer sensors acquisition electronics for the PIONEERS compact instrument. Moreover we design and develop the data acquisition electronics and the power interface electronics for interfacing the PIONEERS compact instrument with the spacecraft platform.