| Mission type | Orbiter, impactor, and lander |
|---|---|
| Operator | European Space Agency |
| Website | Don Quijote concept |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Modified SMART-1[1] |
| Launch mass | Orbiter: 491 kg (1,082 lb) Lander: 1,694 kg (3,735 lb) |
| Dry mass | Orbiter: 395 kg (871 lb) Lander: 532 kg (1,173 lb) |
| Payload mass | Orbiter: 20.6 kg (45 lb) Lander: 9 kg (20 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | Studied for a 2015 launch |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Heliocentric |
| 2003 SM84 or 99942 Apophis[2] orbiter | |
| Spacecraft component | Sancho |
| Orbits | Months |
| 2003 SM84 or 99942 Apophis[2] impactor | |
| Spacecraft component | Hidalgo |
| 2003 SM84 or 99942 Apophis[2] lander | |
| Spacecraft component | Autonomous Surface Package |
Don Quijote is a past space mission concept that has been studied from 2005 until 2007 by the European Space Agency, and which would investigate the effects of crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid to test whether a spacecraft could successfully deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The orbiter was designed to last for seven years. The mission did not proceed beyond initial studies.
Nonetheless, this concept inspired the ESA which is currently working with its American counterpart, the NASA, on the space cooperation called AIDA (for Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment). AIDA includes two consecutive but independent missions: DART and Hera.[3][4]
ESA1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).