DALOMIS: A DATA TRANSMISSION AND LOCALISATION SYSTEM FOR MICROPROBES SWARMS

This paper introduces the design of an integrated data transmission and localization system for microprobe swarms, called DALOMIS. The development is performed under ESA contract, together with Qinetiq Space as prime contractor. DALOMIS aims at localizing free falling miniature scientific Probes that are deployed into a planetary atmosphere from a carrier craft, such as a Balloon. As a reference mission scenario for the development of DALOMIS, a Balloon mission to the middle cloud layer of Venus was chosen. The proposed system is able to localize and track the tiny probes in the atmosphere at ranges of up to 155 km. DALOMIS is centralized into the Carrier craft, in order to keep the mass of the Probes as low as possible.