END/MMOD: A Synergic Combination of a LEO Spacecraft Aero-Braking Deorbiting Module with a LEO Space Debris and Micro-Meteoroids Detection and Characterization System

In this paper it is proposed the combination of the End-of-life Natural Deorbiting (END) module (an inflatable aerobreaking device already under development in AVIO and aimed to accelerate the orbital decay of inoperative spacecraft) with a sub-system called MMOD (Micro-Meteoroids and Orbital Debris) consisting of a hypervelocity impacts detector capable of collecting data relevant to the type and the distribution of space debris and micro-meteoroids in the LEO region.