An Asteroid Landing Mechanism and Its Landing Simulation

An asteroid landing mechanism applied to the micro-gravity and uneven environment of the asteroid is introduced. It consists of landing feet, landing gear, cardan, buffer mechanism, equipment base and anchor system. Static structural analysis of the landing mechanism is carried out to check its strength and stiffness. Dynamic models in vertical and horizontal directions are constructed to estimate the damping parameter of the buffer mechanism and cardan. Then the influence of the friction coefficient and retro-rocket thrust to the landing performance are analyzed. Finally, the landing performance in 1-2 mode, 2-1 mode, and 1-1-1 mode are simulated with the maximum allowable landing velocity. The simulation results show that the landing mechanism is in good performance.