In this paper, targeting the solar system boundary exploration mission, the scientific objectives of the mission were formulated by addressing multiple scientific issues such as the formation and evolution of the solar system, heliospheric physics, and interstellar medium properties. Based on these objectives, a requirement analysis was conducted, a preliminary mission concept was proposed, and an overall plan for two exploration missions—the “Nose” (nose-first approach) and “Tail” (trailing approach) missions—was developed. Both missions will be launched using the Long March 5 rocket, with the “Nose” mission following a flight sequence of Earth-Earth-Jupiter and the “Tail” mission following Earth-Jupiter. Based on this framework, focusing on mission challenges, key technical aspects—including detector platform design, nuclear power system design, and scientific payload configuration—were elaborated and a detector design scheme based on a 1 kWe-class space reactor power source was proposed. This study can provide reference for the implementation of China’s solar system boundary exploration projects.

In deep space exploration missions, the space-borne portion of the deep space communication system serves as the foundation for long-distance information transmission. Its technological development directly promotes the growth of ground-based received data rates, which affects the design and engineering implementation of exploration missions. In this paper, the development and current state of space-borne communication technologies in deep space exploration missions worldwide were systematically reviewed, with a focus on key technologies such as high-frequency band communication, high-efficiency coding/decoding and deep space relay technologies. The findings offer valuable technical reference for the design of deep space communication systems and mission planning in China’s future deep space exploration.

The exploration of the solar system boundary is of great scientific value and social significance to the heliospheric physics, interstellar space physics and the origin and evolution of the solar system, and has been highly concerned by various space research institutions in the world. Limited by long flight distance and long mission time, the solar system boundary probe needs to solve the energy technology problems of long life, high power and high reliability, which is one of the basic conditions and key technologies of the implementation of the solar system boundary emplacement exploration. On the basis of the study of ultra-remote earth surgery explorations at home and abroad and the demonstration of the marginal exploration mission in our solar system, the demands of the probe energy system were summarized, and the preliminary scheme of the energy system and the key technologies and technological difficulties were analyzed, which can provide reference for further demonstration of exploration missions.

In this paper, the main scientific objectives, observational requirements, and expected scientific returns of boundary exploration missions in different directions, such as the heliospheric nose and tail, were briefly introduced; the current research status at home and abroad was reviewed, including ongoing and proposed missions and their scientific payload configurations; several major scientific questions related to heliospheric physics, the interstellar medium, and solar system evolution in different directions were summarized. Finally prospects for China’s future scientific development in independent boundary exploration were presented.

Targeting the high-resolution mass spectrometric detection requirements for thermal ions at the heliospheric boundary, a high-resolution Time-Of-Flight (TOF) system was designed. This system utilized a linear reflection electric field formed by reflective wire-generated parallel electrodes to reflect incident ions once, thereby extending ion flight time and shortening time-of-flight peak broadening without increasing sensor size, thus achieving the goal of enhancing the mass resolution of the TOF system. Simulations were conducted on electrode electric field distribution and typical particle trajectories within the sensor, and simulation analyses of mass resolution capability were performed for typical heliospheric boundary thermal ion components. Simulation results demonstrate that the mass resolution of this high-resolution TOF system for heliospheric boundary thermal ions is ≥50, meeting the requirements for high-resolution mass spectrometric detection of thermal ions in deep space, especially at the heliospheric boundary.

The solar system boundary exploration mission faces challenges such as long communication delays, complex environments, and long mission durations, which impose higher requirements on the detector’s onboard autonomous data processing and scientific target recognition capabilities. To address these issues, this paper designed and implemented an intelligent information processing system. The system used the domestic high-reliability aerospace-grade AI chip Yulong810A, combined with a dual-FPGA architecture, and possessed core functions including multi-source information fusion processing, image preprocessing and target detection. To tackle the challenge of target perception in weak-light complex environments, the system integrated a lightweight target detection algorithm incorporating a low-light enhancement module and introduced a weighted boxes fusion strategy, significantly improving detection accuracy and robustness. The software system employed a layered architecture design, supporting uplink updates, fault-tolerant control and multi-task cooperative processing. Test results demonstrate that the system performs excellently in terms of target detection accuracy, stability in downlinking engineering parameters, and interruption handling efficiency, providing key technical support for the solar system boundary exploration mission.

Due to the long detection distance and complex space environment, deep-space exploration vehicles are severely constrained in terms of weight, volume, energy, and data transmission. Moreover, the traditional tightly coupled payload electronics integration method fails to meet the requirements of deep-space exploration. Against this backdrop, there is an urgent need for lightweight, miniaturized and highly integrated payload management units to achieve autonomous exploration management and robust radiation resistance protection. In this paper, a design scheme for a distributed and highly integrated payload management unit was proposed, which adopts a two-level architecture: the front-end payload signal processing unit is placed in close proximity to the payload detection front-end, enabling the acquisition and conversion of payload signals; the back-end payload information management unit, not restricted by installation location, undertakes the responsibilities of complex control and large-capacity storage. Its key innovative technologies, including distributed design, scalability, high integration, generalization, and intelligent data processing, provide a multi-dimensional integration solution for payloads. These technologies significantly enhance the adaptability and integration level of the payload system while making up for the shortcomings of traditional methods. When applied to future deep-space exploration missions, this unit can help humans deepen their understanding of the universe and provide key technical support for China’s deep space exploration.

As solar exploration missions extend toward regions closer to the Sun and more extreme environments, the Thermal Protection System (TPS) is a critical technology attracting significant attention. This study systematically reviewed thermal environmental characteristics and corresponding TPS application requirements for three types of missions: Earth-Sun L1 point observation, solar polar orbit exploration, and solar close approach exploration. An in-depth analysis of the design philosophies, material selections, and technical approaches for the associated thermal protection systems was conducted. Research indicates that the future development trend for solar exploration TPS has moved beyond the simple improvement of a single material’s performance to a synergistic design that integrates structure and function. This includes: ①developing ultra-high-temperature-resistant, lightweight composite materials to build composite structures that offer both efficient thermal insulation and load-bearing capacity; ②advancing thermal optical coating technology to enhance multi-path thermal protection while ensuring long-term stability of materials under extreme solar wind conditions, and ③promoting large-scale, integrated manufacturing processes to achieve high reliability and low cost. The key materials and optimization methods extracted from this study provide crucial theoretical support and technical reserves for China’s deep space exploration missions to cope with extreme thermal environments. Accelerating breakthroughs in related core technologies is of great strategic significance to enhancing the nation’s original innovation capacity in aerospace science and technology and implementing the deep space exploration strategy.

This paper proposed an efficient method of image overlapping relationship analysis based on spatial index of KD tree fast search for disordered and large-scale asteroid images. In this study, the image data from asteroid exploration missions such as Bennu, Vesta, and Ryugu were used for experiments, and the proposed image matching pairs determination algorithm was comprehensively compared with the corresponding modules of USGS ISIS in order to evaluate its performance in terms of efficiency and accuracy. The results show that when processing more than a thousand images, the proposed method greatly improves the efficiency of acquiring image matching pairs while ensuring the correctness of image overlapping relationships and accuracy of bundle adjustment. At the same time, according to the obtained image matching pairs, images that meet the requirements of Stereo Photoclinometry can be quickly selected, effectively improving the quality of 3D reconstruction models of asteroid images.