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The PACMAN experiment is a technology demonstrator whose main goal is to develop and validate, in low-gravity conditions, an integrated system for proximity navigation and soft docking based on magnetic interactions, suitable for small-scale spacecraft. This will be accomplished by launching a miniature spacecraft towards a target that generates a static magnetic field. A set of actively-controlled magnetic coils onboard the spacecraft, assisted by dedicated localization sensors, will be used to control its attitude and position relative to the target. External cameras will be used to monitor the experiment during the tests in low gravity.
The Parabolic flight campaign for the PACMAN experiment has been launched in Autumn 2017.
Endorsing Professors: Prof. Alessandro Francesconi, Prof. Angelo Cenedese, Prof. Enrico Lorenzini
Research-Unit Student Participants: Matteo Duzzi (PhD st.), Mattia Mazzucato (PhD st.), Riccardo Casagrande (MS st.), Matteo Vitturi (MS st.), Fabrizio Vitellino (MS st.), Filippo Trevisi (MS st.)
SPACE, AERIAL and GROUND CONTROL SYSTEMS
Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova