DOCSLIB.ORG

NEPTUNE-ODYSSEY: NASA Mission to the Neptune-Triton System

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
NEPTUNE-ODYSSEY: NASA Mission to the Neptune-Triton System NEPTUNE-ODYSSEY: NASA Mission to the Neptune-Triton System Abigail Rymer, Principal Investigator Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory Team includes: Kirby Runyon, Project Scientist Brenda Clyde, Project Engineer Co-Is and collaborators from 17 national and international institutions Team Structure and Philosophy • Proposal team structure Deliberate planning for multi-generational mission and distributed leadership o See ‘Human Factors for Long Duration Missions’ by David Reinecke (White Paper to the Decadal Survey) Unabashedly Flagship. Cassini-like mission to the Neptune system. Arranged across 5 Working Groups: o Aurora and Magnetosphere – Led by Ian Cohan and Frank Crary o Triton - Led by Lynnae Quick and Alan Stern . Lander . Orbiter o Satellites and Rings – Led by Tracy Becker and Matt Hedman o Neptune – Led by Krista Soderlund, Kunio Sayanagi and Mark Hofstatder o Exoplanets – Led by Jonathan Fortney See LPSC presentation recording at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NrYIVNvqLI 5/26/20 2 Neptune and Uranus in the Planetary Decadal Survey “Top and only priority for a new flagship mission is the Uranus Orbiter and Probe.” [Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022] " A comprehensive mission to study one of the ice giants offers enormous potential for new discoveries. The committee investigated missions to both Uranus and Neptune and determined that the two systems offered equally rich science return. The Uranus mission is preferred for the decade 2013‐2022 both because of the more difficult requirements of achieving Neptune orbit and because of the availability of favorable Uranus trajectories in the coming decade.” 5/26/20 3 Voyager – the first and only mission to Neptune • Voyager flew by Neptune in 1989 Voyager discovered • Amazing storms in Neptune’s atmosphere • Unique geology on its large moon Triton • A tilted offset magnetosphere • Ring arcs 3/15/20 4 Is Triton an Ocean World? • Voyager passed Triton at a distance of ~40,000 km and discovered a moon like no others in the solar system • Triton’s sparsely cratered surface shows evidence for geologically-recent resurfacing • Triton’s tenuous nitrogen atmosphere and surface ices respond to seasons – it was extreme southern spring at the time of the Voyager flyby 3/15/20 5 Mahilani Plume Triton’s Plumes • 4 active plumes imaged by Voyager • 8 km high • 120 fans on surface probably from no- longer-active plumes • Fans only seen in southern hemisphere Are the plumes driven by solar energy? Or are they endogenic? What volatile 3/15/20 reservoir are they sampling? 6 Triton is a Kuiper Belt dwarf planet captured into Neptune orbit. And the Kuiper Belt dwarf planets are as diverse as the terrestrial planets. 7 Neptune’s Magnetosphere – Investigating the effects of a captured KBO How is plasma sourced and transported in Neptune’s magnetosphere? How does Neptune shed any additional mass coming from Triton’s geysers? Credit: Universal Images Group via Getty Images How does Triton shape Neptune’s radiation belts? Credit: Mauk & Fox, JGR, 2010 Credit: NASA/GSFC/SVS 5/26/20 8 “Neptune’s moons were normal until Triton came crashing in.” —New Scientist 5/26/20 9 Triton’s Young Surface • Triton’s surface age may be <10 MY (Schenk and Zahnle, 2007) Cryovolcanism? Bizarre tectonics? Heating from capture 4BY ago not adequate to explain current surface youth; Recent capture is unlikely • Obliquity tides could supply necessary energy for surface processes that would erase craters (Nimmo & Spencer, 2015) Convecting ice shell 100 – 300 km thick Could result in 240K layer, warm enough for liquid NH3-H2O 3/15/20 10 Why is the Neptunian ring-moon system so bizarre??? • How did the Neptunian ring-moon system form? Primordial? Recently formed from a disruption? How did the Triton capture impact the ring-moon system? • The dynamic Neptunian ring-moon system Ring arcs: changing on timescales of years, and we’ve seen some disappear! How are the rings confined? How do they evolve? • So much left to uncover… Still discovering Neptune’s satellites! Where are the source bodies that maintain these rings? What are the rings & satellites made of? A link to the Kuiper Belt? Image Assembly & Processing: Rolf Wahl Olsen 5/26/20 Image Data: NASA/JPL (Voyager 2, NASA Planetary11 Dt S t ) Neptune’s Magnetosphere – Investigating the effects of a captured KBO How is plasma sourced and transported in Neptune’s magnetosphere? How does Neptune shed any additional mass coming from Triton’s geysers? Credit: Universal Images Group via Getty Images How does Triton shape Neptune’s radiation belts? Credit: Mauk & Fox, JGR, 2010 Credit: NASA/GSFC/SVS 5/26/20 12 Laboratory to Understand Planetary Processes Studying Neptune will test our understanding of planetary processes under extreme physical conditions Neptune as an Archetype Credit: NASA/Ames Research Center/Jessie Dotson and Wendy Stenzel Voyager 2 image of Great Dark Spot High‐Speed Winds Multipolar and non‐ Massive Storms axial magnetic fields Complex Circulation Audio continues onto this slide on Neptune science. Neptune’s Origin, Evolution, and Structure What is an ice giant? How do they form? Internal Structure Bulk Composition Helled et al., 2020 Global Energy Balance Mousis et al., 2018 Hofstadter et al., 2017 5/26/20 14 The mission • We named it Odyssey and have taken to referring to the SC as “Ody” • Jupiter flybys help but we decided to provide direct to Jupiter options enable yearly launch opportunities. The launch window to include a Jupiter flyby would enable either about *2 payload or (more likely) the option to remove the rocket upper stage. • It’s a nuclear mission, and we need to make sure that NASA continues our efforts to produce Pu. Increased production would be a boon for this mission and others. 5/26/20 15 Launch Vehicle Decision Path SLSB2+kickstage (chemical direct to Neptune) Enables annual opportunities (no Jupiter gravity assist) All chemical propulsion mission Slowest arrival at Neptune (lowest propulsive needs) . Requires SLS Block 2 + Kickstage. If it can’t close on mass, we are maxed on launch vehicle Enabled option Recommended for Direct to Neptune All chemical + Jupiter GA future study Annual opportunities + SEP SLSB2 no kickstage (chemical with JGA) Non‐SLS+SEP (chemical with 2 EGAs) All chemical propulsion mission Enables annual opportunities (no Jupiter gravity assist) Slowest arrival at Neptune (lowest propulsive needs) Requires an SEP kickstage Might close on SLS Block 2 Analysis during the proposal demonstrates it is possible to . Jupiter is only in phase 3‐4 years, then gone for 10 eliminate SLS Block 2 (as long as we add SEP and come in faster) *Carrying the cost + complexity of SEP system . Faster arrival at Neptune . More chem. propulsive needs (larger NOI burn) . Stresses probe design more EEEN = Launch from Earth + 2 Earth flybys EJN = Launch from Earth with JG Direct and JGA Chemical SLS Options with TOF ≤ 16 yrs SLSb2 Earth‐Neptune Direct +upperstage SLSb2 Earth‐Jupiter‐Neptune (kg) Orbit Neptune to Mass 5/26/20 Launch Year 17 Direct and JGA Chemical SLS Options with TOF ≤ 16 yrs SLSb2 Earth‐Neptune Direct +upperstage Point SLSb2 Earth‐Jupiter‐Neptune design (kg) Orbit Current Dry Neptune Mass to Maximum Possible Mass Value 5/26/20 Launch Year 18 Spacecraft Trajectory and Arrival Approach DM Link NOI Coast PRM Tour Probe Cruise SEP Coast Entry 30 days The tour Sun Rn (1RN~24,800)km 5/26/20 Rn (1RN~24,800)km 20 Cross Divisional Opportunities • A 16-year cruise phase out to 30-AU - Heliophysics • Exoplanet observations of the Solar System - Astrophysics • Asteroid/Centaur Flybys – Planetary Physics 5/26/20 21 Orbiter Configuration HGA, 4m Dipole Antenna NG RTS (3X) MAG Boom Probe 1# Thruster Cluster (4X) 100# Thruster (2X) 22 15 Instruments on Orbiter (Heritage) Ion & Neutral Mass Narrow‐Angle Camera IR Mapping Radiometer Spectrometer UV Imaging (NH LORRI) (LRO Diviner) Spectrometer Vis‐IR Imaging (Cassini INMS) (NH Alice) Spectrometer (Lucy Ralph) Laser Altimeter Plasma Detector Energetic Particles ENA Imager (Messenger MLA) Radio & Plasma Waves (Juno JADE‐I) (PSP EPI‐LO) (IMAP Ultra) (Juno Waves) Camera Dust Analyzer MAG Boom Microwave Radiometer (Juno MWR) Juno‐Cam (IMAP IDEX) 23 Probe Instruments: 7 Total, probe mass ~220kg Inlet Mass Spectrometer Helium Atmospheric Nephelometer Abundance Structure Detector Instrument Ortho‐Para Instrument Net Flux Radiometer EPO Cam Get involved • White papers: https://www.lpi.usra.edu/decadal_whitepaper_proposals/#gp Can be found via the OPAG website - or start advocating for science you want to see in this diverse system • Suggest additions to our “NepTUNES” tracklist on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Wcyce8KEX0QZvePIr0iC7?si=Qf1pvyE1Tt2814fIxaCI mA • Email me: [email protected] 5/26/20 25 ‘Neptune‐Triton: A Flagship For Everyone’ 5/26/20 26 BACK UP 5/26/20 27 Spacecraft - Volume 4.56m 6.96m Dia. D1666 Payload Adapter Falcon Fairing, 4.6m ID 31 August 2020 28 Propulsion Components Thrusters I lb x 16 Fuel Tank Oxidizer Tank Pressurant Tank Is: 76391.58 in3 Is: 36874.52 in3 Is: 11137.78 in3 I00 lb x 2 Was: 68043.7 in3 Was: 31435.2 in3 Was: 9782.9 in^3 (Volume info from Seth Kijewski on 6/3/20) 31 August 2020 29 Propulsion Components Configuration ISO View Bottom View 31 August 2020 30 Instruments Configuration JADE‐I Laser JADE‐E Altimeter (3 pairs) Diviner EPO CAM L’Ralph Epi‐Lo Alice IDEX LORRI Mass Microwave Spectrometer Radiometer (INMS) WAVES Ultra 31 August 2020 31 MAG Boom Length ~= 2X Orbiter Height Boom Length = 10.5 meter 31 August 2020 32 FOV ISO View 31 August 2020 33 Gimbaled Instruments L’Ralph Diviner +/‐ 90˚ +/‐ 30˚ Alice LORRI +/‐ 30˚ One‐axis Gimbal Biaxial Gimbals 31 August 2020 34 Sun Sensor Sun sensor (4X) 31 August 2020 35.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • + New Horizons
    Media Contacts NASA Headquarters Policy/Program Management Dwayne Brown New Horizons Nuclear Safety (202) 358-1726 [email protected] The Johns Hopkins University Mission Management Applied Physics Laboratory Spacecraft Operations Michael Buckley (240) 228-7536 or (443) 778-7536 [email protected] Southwest Research Institute Principal Investigator Institution Maria Martinez (210) 522-3305 [email protected] NASA Kennedy Space Center Launch Operations George Diller (321) 867-2468 [email protected] Lockheed Martin Space Systems Launch Vehicle Julie Andrews (321) 853-1567 [email protected] International Launch Services Launch Vehicle Fran Slimmer (571) 633-7462 [email protected] NEW HORIZONS Table of Contents Media Services Information ................................................................................................ 2 Quick Facts .............................................................................................................................. 3 Pluto at a Glance ...................................................................................................................... 5 Why Pluto and the Kuiper Belt? The Science of New Horizons ............................... 7 NASA’s New Frontiers Program ........................................................................................14 The Spacecraft ........................................................................................................................15 Science Payload ...............................................................................................................16
    [Show full text]
  • Triton: Topography and Geology of a Probable Ocean World with Comparison to Pluto and Charon
    remote sensing Article Triton: Topography and Geology of a Probable Ocean World with Comparison to Pluto and Charon Paul M. Schenk 1,* , Chloe B. Beddingfield 2,3, Tanguy Bertrand 3, Carver Bierson 4 , Ross Beyer 2,3, Veronica J. Bray 5, Dale Cruikshank 3 , William M. Grundy 6, Candice Hansen 7, Jason Hofgartner 8 , Emily Martin 9, William B. McKinnon 10, Jeffrey M. Moore 3, Stuart Robbins 11 , Kirby D. Runyon 12 , Kelsi N. Singer 11 , John Spencer 11, S. Alan Stern 11 and Ted Stryk 13 1 Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX 77058, USA 2 SETI Institute, Palo Alto, CA 94020, USA; chloe.b.beddingfi[email protected] (C.B.B.); [email protected] (R.B.) 3 NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA; [email protected] (T.B.); [email protected] (D.C.); [email protected] (J.M.M.) 4 School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85202, USA; [email protected] 5 Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85641, USA; [email protected] 6 Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA; [email protected] 7 Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85704, USA; [email protected] 8 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91001, USA; [email protected] 9 National Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC 20001, USA; [email protected] 10 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO 63101, USA; [email protected] 11 Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, CO 80301, USA; [email protected] (S.R.); [email protected] (K.N.S.); [email protected] (J.S.); [email protected] (S.A.S.) Citation: Schenk, P.M.; Beddingfield, 12 Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD 20707, USA; [email protected] 13 C.B.; Bertrand, T.; Bierson, C.; Beyer, Humanities Division, Roane State Community College, Harriman, TN 37748, USA; [email protected] R.; Bray, V.J.; Cruikshank, D.; Grundy, * Correspondence: [email protected] W.M.; Hansen, C.; Hofgartner, J.; et al.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the New Horizons Spacecraft Glen H. Fountain, David Y
    The New Horizons Spacecraft Glen H. Fountain, David Y. Kusnierkiewicz, Christopher B. Hersman, Timothy S. Herder, Thomas B Coughlin, William T. Gibson, Deborah A. Clancy, Christopher C. DeBoy, T. Adrian Hill, James D. Kinnison, Douglas S. Mehoke, Geffrey K. Ottman, Gabe D. Rogers, S. Alan Stern, James M. Stratton, Steven R. Vernon, Stephen P. Williams Abstract The New Horizons spacecraft was launched on January 19, 2006. The spacecraft was designed to provide a platform for the seven instruments designated by the science team to collect and return data from Pluto in 2015 that would meet the requirements established by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Announcement of Opportunity AO-OSS-01. The design drew on heritage from previous missions developed at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and other NASA missions such as Ulysses. The trajectory design imposed constraints on mass and structural strength to meet the high launch acceleration consistent with meeting the AO requirement of returning data prior to the year 2020. The spacecraft subsystems were designed to meet tight resource allocations (mass and power) yet provide the necessary control and data handling finesse to support data collection and return when the one way light time during the Pluto fly-by is 4.5 hours. Missions to the outer regions of the solar system (where the solar irradiance is 1/1000 of the level near the Earth) require a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) to supply electrical power. One RTG was available for use by New Horizons. To accommodate this constraint, the spacecraft electronics were designed to operate on less than 200 W.
    [Show full text]
  • New Frontiers-Class Uranus Orbiter: Exploring the Feasibility of Achieving Multidisciplinary Science with a Mid-Scale Mission
    Credit: BBC (https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140822-the-mission-to-an-un-loved-planet) New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: Exploring the feasibility of achieving multidisciplinary science with a mid-scale mission Ian J. Cohen1 (240-584-7261, [email protected]), 1The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) Co-authors: Chloe Beddingfield2, Robert Chancia3, Gina DiBraccio4, Matthew Hedman3, Shannon MacKenzie1, Barry Mauk1, Kunio Sayanagi5, Krista Soderlund6, Elizabeth Turtle1, Elena Adams1, Caitlin Ahrens7, Shawn Brooks8, Emma Bunce9, Sebastien Charnoz10, George Clark1, Athena Coustenis11, Robert Dillman12, Soumyo Dutta12, Leigh Fletcher9, Rebecca Harbison13, Ravit Helled14, Richard Holme15, Lauren Jozwiak1, Yasumasa Kasaba16, Peter Kollmann1, Statia Luszcz-Cook17, Kathleen Mandt1, Olivier Mousis18, Alessandro Mura19, Go Murakami20, Marzia Parisi8, Abigail Rymer1, Sabine Stanley21, Katrin Stephan22, Ronald Vervack1, Michael Wong23, and Peter Wurz24 Co-signers: Tibor Balint8, Shawn Brueshaber25, Xin Cao26, Richard Cartwright2, Corey Cochrane8, Alice Cocoros1, Kate Craft1, Ingrid Daubar27, Imke de Pater23, Chuanfei Dong28, Robert Ebert29, Catherine Elder8, Carolyn Ernst1, Gianrico Filacchione19, Jonathan Fortney30, Daniel Gershman4, Jesper Gjerloev1, Matina Gkioulidou1, Athul P. Girija31, George Hospodarsky26, Caitriona Jackman32, Devanshu Jha33, Erin Leonard8, Michael Lucas34, Alice Lucchetti35, Heather Meyer1, Adam Masters36, Kimberly Moore37, Sarah Moran21, Romina Nikoukar1, Maurizio Pajola35, Chris Paranicas1,
    [Show full text]
  • Planetary Decadal
    The Team Science Challenges of Very Long Duration Spaceflight Missions A White Paper for NASA’s Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, 2023-2032 Primary author: David M. Reinecke Department of Sociology Princeton University [email protected] Co-authors: Pontus C. Brandt (JHU/APL) Glen H. Fountain (JHU/APL) Abigail M. Rymer (JHU/APL) Janet A. Vertesi (Princeton University) White Paper for Decadal Survey on Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 1 Introduction Since the dawn of the space age, the duration of spaceflight missions has increased from days to years to decades [1]. Through various mission extensions, Voyager has operated for 43 years to date. Cassini took 7 years to reach the Saturnian system and then orbited for an additional 13 years for a total of 20. The New Horizons mission cruised over 9 years to reach Pluto and has continued into the Kuiper Belt for the past 5 years. The science goals of next-generation heliospheric and planetary missions may demand even longer mission durations. Recent mission concepts to explore the ice giants of Uranus or Neptune all envision complex missions over a multi-decadal span [2,3]. An ongoing Interstellar Probe mission study is exploring a spacecraft required to operate for fifty years to service science goals under discussion [4]. A very long duration space science mission calls for not only a spacecraft designed for longevity, but also a team of scientists, engineers, and managers that can support the mission over the very long term. The problem is that most space science missions—even those operating over decades— were not designed with longevity in mind [5].
    [Show full text]
  • New Horizons 2 Alan Stern (Swri), Rick Binzel (MIT), Hal Levison
    New Horizons 2 Alan Stern (SwRI), Rick Binzel (MIT), Hal Levison (SwRI), Rosaly Lopes (JPL), Bob Millis (Lowell Observatory), and Jeff Moore (NASA Ames) New Horizons is the inaugural mission in NASA’s New Frontiers program—a series of mid-sized planetary exploration projects. This mission was competitively selected in 2001 after a peer review competition between industry-university teams. The mission is on track toward a planned launch in January 2006—just over 6 months hence. The primary objective of New Horizons (NH) is to make the first reconnaissance of the solar system’s farthest planet, Pluto, its comparably sized satellite Charon. If an extended mission is approved, New Horizons may be able to also flyby a Kuiper Belt Object (KBOs) farther from the Sun. The exploration of the Kuiper Belt and Pluto-Charon was ranked as the highest new start priority for planetary exploration by the National Research Council’s recently completed (2002) Decadal Survey for Planetary Science. In accomplishing its goals, the mission is expected to reveal fundamental new insights into the nature of the outer solar system, the formation history of the planets, the workings of binary worlds, and the ancient repository of water and organic building blocks called the Kuiper Belt. Beyond its scientific ambitions, New Horizons is also breaking ground in lowering the cost of exploration of the outer solar system—for it is being built and launched for what are literally dimes on the dollar compared to deep outer solar system missions like Voyager, Galileo, and Cassini. The New Horizons spacecraft carries a suite of seven advanced, miniaturized instruments to obtain detailed imagery, mapping spectroscopy, thermal mapping, gravitational data, and in situ plasma composition, density, and energy sampling of the exotic, icy Pluto- Charon binary and a modest-sized (~50 km diameter) KBO.
    [Show full text]
  • Prospects for Future Exploration of the Trans-Neptunian Region
    Prospects for Future Exploration of the Trans-Neptunian Region Primary Authors: Bryan J. Holler (STScI), Michele T. Bannister (U. Canterbury), Kelsi N. Singer (SwRI), S. Alan Stern (SwRI) Co-Authors: Susan D. Benecchi (PSI), Cristina M. Dalle Ore (NASA Ames), Leigh N. Fletcher (U. of Leicester), Aurélie Guilbert-Lepoutre (U. de Lyon), Csaba Kiss (Konkoly Obs.), Pedro Lacerda (Queen’s U. Belfast), Kathleen E. Mandt (JHU/APL), Michaël Marsset (MIT), Alex H. Parker (SwRI), Noemí Pinilla-Alonso (FSI/UCF), Darin Ragozzine (BYU), Mark B. Tapley (SwRI), Chadwick A. Trujillo (NAU), Orkan M. Umurhan (SETI, NASA Ames), Hajime Yano (JAXA ISAS), Leslie A. Young (SwRI) Co-Signers: Richard Cartwright (SETI), Dale P. Cruikshank (NASA Ames), Estela Fernández-Valenzuela (FSI/UCF), Candy Hansen (PSI), Dean Hines (STScI), Jason D. Hofgartner (NASA/JPL), Timothy Holt (U. Southern Queensland), Carly Howett (SwRI), Katherine Murray (STScI), Cathy B. Olkin (SwRI), Nuno Peixinho (U. Coimbra), Alena Probst (JPL), Kirby D. Runyon (JHU/APL), Scott S. Sheppard (Carnegie Inst.), Anne Verbiscer (UVA), Maya D. Yanez (USC) Executive Summary: A strong case can be made for a flyby mission through the outer solar system in the coming decades. The census of the larger worlds of the trans-Neptunian region has shown that they display incredible diversity. Surface geology and composition, shapes, and binarity are far more varied in these distant populations than in many other regions of the solar system. Fully understanding these keystone worlds requires in situ observation. As demonstrated by New Horizons, the first trans-Neptunian flyby mission, close-up investigation can determine surface geology, atmospheric processes, space weather environment, interior-surface and surface- atmosphere interactions, and provide constraints on a body's interior [1-3].
    [Show full text]
  • Demotion of Pluto Relegates the Planethood Status of Earth
    International Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences (IJEAS) ISSN: 2394-3661, Volume-5, Issue-4, April 2018 Demotion of Pluto relegates the planethood status of Earth Dipak Nath Abstract— Planethood means the state or condition of being a of a planet. Earth is the third planet from the sun and the fifth Planet. Clyde.W. Tombough discovered Pluto on march13, 1930. largest. It is the only object in the universe known to harbor From its discovery in 1930 until 2006, Pluto was classified as life. Its name derives from Old English and Germanic .It is the Planet. In the late 20th and early 21st century, many objects densest major body in the solar system. Earth has only one similar to Pluto were discovered in the outer solar system, natural satellite, the moon. It has got many Asteroids and notably the scattered disc object Eris in 2005, which is 27% artificial satellites. Earth’s gravity interacts with other objects more massive than Pluto. On august-24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined what it means to be a Planet in space especially the sun and moon. Pluto was discovered by within the solar system. This definition excluded Pluto as a Clyde W Tombaugh in 1930 and was originally considered to Planet added it as a member of the new category “Dwarf Planet” be the ninth planet from the sun. After 1992, its status as along with Eris and Ceres. planet was questioned and in 2006 it was reclassified as a There were many reasons why Pluto got demoted to dwarf Dwarf Planet.
    [Show full text]
  • After Neptune Odyssey Design
    Concept Study Team We are enormously proud to be part of a large national and international team many of whom have contributed their time in order to make this study a very enjoyable and productive experience. Advancing science despite the lockdown. Team Member Role Home Institution Team Member Role Home Institution Abigail Rymer Principal Investigator APL George Hospodarsky Plasma Wave Expert U. of Iowa Kirby Runyon Project Scientist APL H. Todd Smith Magnetospheric Science APL Brenda Clyde Lead Engineer APL Hannah Wakeford Exoplanets U. of Bristol, UK Susan Ensor Project Manager APL Imke de Pater Neptune expert Berkeley Clint Apland Spacecraft Engineer APL Jack Hunt GNC Engineer APL Jonathan Bruzzi Probe Engineer APL Jacob Wilkes RF Engineer APL Janet Vertisi Sociologist, teaming expert Princeton James Roberts Geophysicist APL Kenneth Hansen NASA HQ Representative NASA HQ Jay Feldman Probe Engineer NASA Ames Krista Soderlund Neptune WG Co-lead U. of Texas Jeremy Rehm Outreach APL Kunio Sayanagi Neptune WG Co-lead Hampton U. Jorge Nunez Payload Manager APL Alan Stern Triton WG Co-lead SwRI Joseph Williams Probe Engineer NASA Ames Lynne Quick Triton WG Co-lead GSFC Juan Arrieta Tour Design NablaZero lab Tracy Becker Icies and Rings WG Co-lead SwRI Kathleen Mandt Triton Science APL Matthew Hedman Icies and Rings WG Co-lead U. of Idaho Kelvin Murray Schedule APL Ian Cohen Aurora/Mag WG Co-lead APL Kevin Stevenson Exoplanets APL Frank Crary Aurora/Mag WG Co-lead U. of Colorado Kurt Gantz Mechanical Design Engineer APL Jonathan Fortney Exoplanets WG Lead UCSC Larry Wolfarth Cost Analysis APL Adam Masters Magnetospheric Science Imperial College Leigh Fletcher Physicist U.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapters 11-14
    At NASA, hopes for a new planetary mission to Saturn had been in the works since the early 1980s. Scientists had long sought to visit the second-largest planet in the solar system, with its fascinating system of rings, numerous moons, and unique magnetic field. 11 140 Visiting Saturn 11 The Cassini Mission s the 1980s drew to a close, the DOE Office of Special Applica- tions had its hands full with space nuclear power system work. Although assembly and testing of four GPHS-RTGs (including Aone spare) for the Galileo and Ulysses missions were complete, other projects filled the time. Ongoing assessment and development of DIPS, begun under SDI, continued on a limited basis under SEI. e SP- 100 space reactor program and TFE verification program were in the midst of ongoing development and testing. DOE also continued supporting DoD in development of a space nuclear thermal propulsion system that had begun under the auspices of SDI. At NASA, hopes for a new planetary mission to Saturn had been in the works since the early 1980s. Scientists had long sought to visit the second-largest planet in the solar system, with its fascinating system of rings, numerous moons, and unique magnetic field. Flybys of Saturn by the RTG-powered Pioneer 11 spacecraft in 1979 and the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1980 and 1981, respectively, provided information that further piqued that interest. Efforts to acquire a Saturn mission finally came to fruition in 1989 with the authorization of Congressional funding. Conceived as an international partnership with the ESA and Italian Space Agency, the Cassini-Huygens mission (alternately the Cassini mission) began in 1990 and consisted of an orbiter (Cassini) and a probe (Huygens).
    [Show full text]
  • Security Scare Puts Pluto Launch at Risk
    news Security scare puts Pluto launch at risk Geoff Brumfiel,Washington The two-week launch window in A NASA mission to Pluto could arrive January 2006 is important because it five years late and cost tens of millions would allow the craft to bounce off of dollars more because of a security Jupiter’s gravitational field on its way to JHUAPL/SWRI clamp-down at Los Alamos National Pluto. New Horizons could potentially Laboratory in New Mexico. launch in February 2007, but it would The nuclear-powered New Horizons not be able to use Jupiter as a spring- spacecraft, scheduled for launch in board and so would face an additional 2006, should be fuelled by plutonium three to four years of travel time. Con- from a reprocessing facility at Los tingency plans drawn up by NASA put Alamos. But work at the lab shut down the extra costs, such as the need to run a on 16 July, pending a security review mission control centre for longer than into the disappearance of two classified expected,at $67 million. computer-storage devices (see Nature In the coming months,mission plan- 430,387;2004).If the reprocessing facil- ners will consider the implications of ities are not restarted soon, the mission The New Horizons probe is rapidly running out of time. redesigning the mission so that it uses could miss its launch window. “We’re fewer fuel pellets.“People are looking at taking this very seriously,” says Alan Stern, the Cassini mission to Saturn, these will lots and lots of remedies,”says Stern.Adding principal investigator of the project and power the spacecraft on its nine-year journey batteries that can be used to power up instru- director of the space-studies department to Pluto, says Orlando Figueroa, deputy ments when the craft arrives at Pluto is one at the Southwest Research Institute in Boul- associate administrator for programmes at possibility.Another is that some of the space- der,Colorado.
    [Show full text]
  • New Horizons: First Scientific Results
    New Horizons: First Scientific Results Bonnie J. Buratti (For the New Horizons Team, Alan Stern, P.I.) Principal Scientist, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech Discovery of Pluto (1930) Percival Lowell (1855-1916) Clyde Tombaugh (1906-1997) Discovery of Pluto’s main moon (1978) The discovery photograph (Pluto + Charon; Charon Is the blob) Christy & Harrington Hubble: July 2012 Styx Kerberos The origin of Charon? The clearest map of Pluto prior to New Horizons (Buie et al., 2010) The Third Zone Pluto’s orbit Neptune’s orbit Triton (Neptune moon) What we expected to see (What we didn’t see) New Horizons Finally, a mission to complete the inventory New Horizons: Mission Objectives • Map surface composition of Pluto & Charon • Characterize geology and morphology of Pluto, Charon & new satellites • Characterize the atmosphere of Pluto and its evolution • Search for an atmosphere around Charon • Map temperatures on Pluto & Charon • Search for rings and additional satellites around Pluto • PLUS... conduct similar investigations of one or more Kuiper Belt Objects New Horizons: Basics Ralph: Visible and IR spectrometer: composition and temperature of surface of Pluto, Charon, and new moons Alice: Ultraviolet spectrometer: atmospheric detection and structure LORRI: Camera to study geology; look for moons and rings REX: Radio science experiment: atmospheric temperature and composition SWAP: Solar wind studies PEPPSI: Energetic particle detector SDC: Student dust counter http://pluto.jhuapl.edu Mission profile Volatile transport The solid lines are no frost transport; the data show sublimation in the bright regions in the past few decades. Leisa spectrometer first results CO Colors of Pluto and Charon Nix and Hydra 42X36 km 55X40 km The magnetosphere of Pluto: It has a tail! Young people (postdocs especially) and women powered the New Horizons project Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter Conclusions and future work • Pluto has a complex geologic history, with evidence for seasonal volatile transport and active processes since its formation.
    [Show full text]