MICE and navigation aids on LUR-1

ESA has started to prepare its satellites with standard interfaces for capture and removal to simplify active debris removal missions. As anyone who has experienced the hassle of different charging cables before they were standardised to USB-C knows: for efficient interoperability of hardware, you need matching interfaces.

In September 2024, Spanish company AVS successfully launched their LUR-1 mission that among other new technologies carries the joint technology demonstration with ESA of the Mechanical Interface for Capture at End-of-life (MICE) as well as other navigation aids that will help precise distance and orientation determination needed during the close-proximity navigation.

The MICE interface is a point of attachment put onto the satellite so CAT can easily grab it, similar to how cars have tow hooks. Six navigation aids have also been installed on LUR-1 to support the rendezvous and capture process by helping determine the distance, orientation and any tumbling of the spacecraft.

MICE and the navigation aids are also being installed on four of the future Copernicus Expansion missions to facilitate their removal from orbit in case of a failure that would prevent any of them from leaving orbit under their own steam.