Ricerc@Sapienza

This study aims at the design of microsatellite to test fundamental physics in the solar system. The main scientific objective of the proposed experiment is to determine at which level of accuracy we can observe possible deviation from general relativity. Our focus would be on one of the classical tests of general relativity: the measurement of the light-path deflection by a mass (the Sun). So far, a deviation has never been observed by previous experiments, confirming the validity of the general relativity. In 2002, Cassini exploited radiometric measurements during a superior solar conjunction to obtain the most accurate verification of general relativity, up to now. The BepiColombo and JUICE mission plan to carry out the same experiment with a state-of-the-art radio tracking system. The aforementioned missions perform this experiment as a secondary function with respect to the primary goal of the mission. For this reason, these L-class missions (> 500 M€) were not optimized to perform this experiment. We aim at designing a cost-effective space mission with the primary objective of measuring the light-path bending due to the Sun, and possibly perform other fundamental physics tests. These tests are very demanding in terms of spacecraft dynamical modelling. The main disturbances on this kind of radio science experiments are the modelization of non-gravitational accelerations and solar corona plasma noise on the radio-links. We aim at characterizing the main environmental disturbances on the spacecraft dynamics and propose different solutions in terms of mission design and technological advancements to further improve the experiment accuracy. We want to identify the key aspect of the design of a micro satellite (mass