Interplanetary CubeSat missions enable low-cost exploration missions, in which the design of a primary propulsion system becomes crucial. Emphasis is put on an autonomous Mars mission starting from a parking orbit around Earth: chemical propulsion systems are characterized by high thrust levels and allow fast Earth escape manoeuvres. In recent years, new green propellant options have been analysed and are available for CubeSat propulsion.
A preliminary mission analysis is performed considering the performance parameters of state-of-the-art CubeSat chemical propulsion systems. Afterwards, a trade-off leads to the choice of propulsion system type and propellant. The propulsion system challenge is to fit in a CubeSat standardized volume, which can range up to 24U: a final design is produced, showing the feasibility of the mission adopting multiple COTS components.