As one of the secondary payloads on the space launch systems vehicle, the Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout will demonstrate a low-cost and innovative approach to deep space reconnaissance missions. The main objective is to image and characterize a Near-Earth asteroid. The spacecraft packages a full deep space mission into the volume of a 6U CubeSat. To enable long-term sustained propulsion to the target, a solar sail is utilized as the main propulsion system. The spacecraft bus is single string, with compact avionics. Guidance and control performance meets science requirements with margin, but limited power impacts the amount of science data that can be returned, an aspect that is in part mitigated by the introduction of novel on-board data analysis software. Following in the recent footsteps of the Mars Cube One (MarCO) mission, the first deep space CubeSat demonstration, which included the infusion of the Iris radio; the NEA Scout will continue to blaze the trail for small CubeSats for interplanetary science and reconnaissance missions. This article will provide an overview of the mission, flight system design, and unique features needed for science and propulsion.

中文翻译：

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近地小行星侦察飞行任务

作为太空发射系统运载工具的二级有效载荷之一，近地小行星 (NEA) 侦察兵将展示一种低成本和创新的深空侦察任务方法。主要目标是对近地小行星进行成像和表征。该航天器将完整的深空任务打包到一个 6U 立方体卫星的体积中。为了实现对目标的长期持续推进，太阳帆被用作主要推进系统。航天器总线是单串的，带有紧凑的航空电子设备。制导和控制性能在一定程度上满足科学要求，但有限的功率会影响可以返回的科学数据量，这一方面因引入新型机载数据分析软件而部分缓解。紧随火星立方体一号 (MarCO) 任务最近的脚步，第一次深空 CubeSat 演示，其中包括注入 Iris 无线电；NEA Scout 将继续为用于行星际科学和侦察任务的小型立方体卫星开辟道路。本文将概述科学和推进所需的任务、飞行系统设计和独特功能。