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Mission phase

Surface Operations & Sampling

The critical interaction with the surface — a touchdown, a landing, a sample-collection manoeuvre, or a deliberate impact.

Type
Mission phase
Domain
Scientific connections
Connections
6

Experience system V6

Mission phase scientific profile

A graph-grounded scientific layout that adapts to available evidence, imagery, relations, and source coverage.

Evidence graphScientific mapOriginal SVGSource trail
  1. 01

    Observe

    The page falls back to graph and source evidence when no cleared image is available.

  2. 02

    Measure

    Measurement panels use graph coverage, catalog identifiers, and source availability without inventing values.

  3. 03

    Locate

    Preceded by Proximity Operations.

  4. 04

    Connect

    6 graph relations shape the knowledge viewport.

Object type
Mission phase
Graph relations
6
Verified sources
2
Image records
0
Domain
Scientific connections
Status
Graph entity

Scientific map

Atlas context

Surface Operations & Samp...coordinate fields shown only when available
  • Preceded by

    Proximity Operations

  • Followed by

    Return & Reentry

  • Associated with

    Hayabusa2

  • Associated with

    DART

Original SVG diagram

Scientific schematic

Optical pathCollected lightFocal plane / instrumentMission phase
Object class
Mission phase
Catalog numbers
Not recorded
Graph relations
6
Sources
2
DARTHayabusa2Mars Entry, Desce...Planetary Surface...Proximity Operati...Return & ReentrySurface Operations & Sa...Mission phase

Visual knowledge graph

Relationships, not isolated facts

This viewport is generated from the Asteria knowledge graph. Science, culture, and interpretive links remain separated by domain so visual context never changes the evidentiary meaning of a relation.

Continue the atlas

Curated next objects

mission phase

Proximity Operations

Extended operations close to the body — global mapping, orbiting, and selecting sites for a landing, sampling, or impact.

mission phase

Return & Reentry

For sample-return missions, the journey home and the high-speed atmospheric reentry of the capsule to a recovery site — the phase that delivers the science to Earth.

space mission

Hayabusa2

Hayabusa2 collected surface and subsurface samples of the asteroid Ryugu and returned them to Earth.

space mission

DART

DART was the first planetary-defence test, deliberately impacting the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos to change its orbit.

exploration architecture

Planetary Surface Mobility

How crews range across a world beyond the walking distance of their habitat — from unpressurised buggies for short trips to pressurised rovers that serve as mobile homes for days-long expeditions. Mobility multiplies the science a surface mission can do, turning a single landing site into a region to explore.

exploration architecture

Mars Entry, Descent & Landing

The problem of setting a heavy crewed vehicle down safely on Mars. The atmosphere is thick enough to fiercely heat an incoming craft yet too thin to slow a massive lander by parachute alone, so landing humans will demand a combination of heat shields, retropropulsion, and technologies well beyond those that delivered the robotic rovers.

Data

Scientific data & provenance

Data & provenance

Stable ID
mission_phase:surface-operations
Type
Mission phase
Domain
Scientific connections
Relationships
6
Graph version
1.0.0

Dataset membership

Open data

In the graph export: graph.json · graph.jsonld

Planned API: GET /api/v0/entities/mission_phase:surface-operations

Scientific quality

Substantial
Unreviewed2 sourcesv1.0.0

3 of 4 applicable dimensions complete

Description
Complete
Source coverage
Complete
Relationship coverage
Complete
Review coverage
None
Citation coverage
Not applicable
Image coverage
Not applicable
Timeline coverage
Not applicable

Scientific entity. Dimensions that cannot apply to this object are excluded rather than counted as gaps. See the evidence framework and authority dashboard.

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Sources & references

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

    Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

  • JAXAJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency

    Japanese missions (Hayabusa, Akatsuki) and space science.