Events Calendar

Munushian Seminar

Speaker: Dan M. Goebel, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

Talk Title: The Asteroid Retrieval Robotic Mission using High Power Electric Propulsion

Abstract: Recent splashes in the media about asteroid mining by two new companies backed by celebrities is based on a real idea by John Brophy of JPL: retrieve all or part of an asteroid and bring it close enough to Earth using advanced, high power electric propulsion to easily send astronauts out to mine it. The same mission may also investigate deflecting an asteroid in anticipation that an ARMAGEDDON-like killer asteroid is found headed toward Earth. A recent study at the Keck Institute at Caltech backed by further work by NASA has investigated robotically capturing and returning a near-earth asteroid (NEA) to various Earth and lunar orbits for study by astronauts and potentially mining by commercial ventures. Moving an asteroid up to several meters in diameter weighing nearly 500,000 kg is a daunting task, but not impossible. Studies show that recent breakthroughs in high power electric thrusters at JPL and the possibility of large area, high voltage solar arrays directly driving these thrusters makes the concept of rearranging the solar system feasible. The ideas behind asteroid retrieval and mining, novel direct drive electric thrusters, and capturing and studying NEA by astronauts in the vicinity of the moon will be explored and described.

Biography: Dan M. Goebel received a B.S. in physics, an M.S. in electrical engineering, and a Ph.D. in applied plasma physics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1977, 1978 and 1981 respectively. He is a Senior Research Scientist at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, an Adj. Prof. of Electrical Engineering at USC and an Adj. Prof. of Aerospace Engineering at UCLA. At JPL he is responsible for the development of high efficiency ion and Hall thrusters and advanced components such as cathodes and grids. Previously he was a Research Scientist at HRL Laboratories in Malibu, CA and Principal Scientist at Hughes/Boeing EDD in Torrance, CA where he was the supervisor of the Advanced Technology Group for microwave tube development and the lead scientist of the XIPS ion thruster program for commercial satellite station keeping. Dr. Goebel is a membe3r of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the AIAA, Fellow of the IEEE, Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). He is the author of over 125 technical journal papers, 150 conference papers, one book entitled Fundamentals of Electric Propulsion: Ion and Hall Thrusters published in 2008, and holds 43 patents.

Host: EE-Electrophysics

More Info: http://ee.usc.edu/news/munushian

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 132

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Marilyn Poplawski

Event Link: http://ee.usc.edu/news/munushian