Space Apps Challenge 2018

Notes:

Challenging assumptions

"Design an autonomous free-flyer to inspect a spacecraft for damage from Micro-Meteoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD)." I wonder if "free-flyer" is a hard requirement? Maybe it would be more efficient to create an inspection platform as part of a spacecraft. I imagine a layered approach:

1. Indicator "skin"
   A material to coat the entire outer surface of the craft - like a skin. It could be impervious to a specific light wavelength of have some other property which could be leveraged by an external sensor to show in high contrast where tears/impacts/scrapes to the external structure have occurred. It's possible this layer could include a web of circuits to provide real time notification of impact events and their relative severity.
2. Inspector platform
   An sensor array mounted on a curved rail which is in turn mounted on extended axles either end of the center of the spacecraft. The rail would be able to be precisely rotated around the craft and the senor array just as precisely along the rail provide global visual coverage of the spacecraft.