ECOCEL database: An online tool for asteroid mission planning

The Near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) may be the most promising targets for resources to be used for space manufacturing. Metals, semiconductors and volatiles from asteroids can be used for production of propellant, space constructions and life-support of crewed missions. An assessment of accessible resources and selection of best asteroids-candidates implies a mission analysis together with a compositional data. The ECOCEL database is a web-based tool developed at ISAE-SUPAERO for selection of asteroids-candidates for future space mining missions. The database contains 326 NEAs. For each object, the database includes (i) one-way and round-trip rendezvous mission opportunities computed for 2025–2050 launch period, and (ii) estimated composition inferred from spectral classification and meteorite analogs. The web-application enables searching for suitable target asteroids while specifying mission constraints. In addition, the ECOCEL tool provides a visualisation of compositional data for the entire sample of asteroids.