Goals and objectives
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| Names | FIRE |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Reconnaissance |
| Operator | NASA/JPL |
| Mission duration | cruise: 6 years science phase: 4 months (proposed)[1] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 2024 (proposed) |
| Rocket | Atlas V |
| Flyby of Io | |
| Closest approach | 2030 (proposed) |
| Distance | 100 km from Io |
| Orbits | ≥10 Io flybys |
FIRE (Flyby of Io with Repeat Encounters) is a concept mission to Jupiter's innermost major moon Io. The mission was first presented in 2012[2] for a possible future consideration by NASA's New Frontiers program.[3]
If developed in the future, the FIRE spacecraft would use three gravity assists to reach Jupiter six years later.[3] The spacecraft would orbit Jupiter and perform 10 flybys of Io, some as low as 100 km (62 mi) from its surface.[3][1] The ten flybys would be completed in approximately four months.[1]
As a New Frontiers class mission, the cost cap would be $991 million (FY2012) with a $927 million base cap with a $64 million launch vehicle cost credit.[1]
The instrument suite includes four proposed instruments: [2][3]
Electric power to the spacecraft and its scientific payload would be generated by three Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generators (ASRG).[3][1] ASRG is a radioisotope power system under development at NASA's Glenn Research Center. It uses a Stirling power conversion technology to convert radioactive-decay heat into electricity for use on spacecraft.
