AMBITION -- Comet Nucleus Cryogenic Sample Return (White paper for ESA's Voyage 2050 programme)
Year: 2019
Type: preprint
Abstract: This white paper proposes that AMBITION, a Comet Nucleus Sample Return mission, be a cornerstone of ESA's Voyage 2050 programme. We summarise some of the most important questions still open in cometary science after the successes of the Rosetta mission, many of which require sample analysis using techniques that are only possible in laboratories on Earth. We then summarise measurements, instrumentation and mission scenarios that can address these questions, with a recommendation that ESA select an ambitious cryogenic sample return mission. Rendezvous missions to Main Belt comets and Centaurs are compelling cases for M-class missions, expanding our knowledge by exploring new classes of comets. AMBITION would engage a wide community, drawing expertise from a vast range of disciplines within planetary science and astrophysics. With AMBITION, Europe will continue its leadership in the exploration of the most primitive Solar System bodies.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Bockelée-Morvan, D., Filacchione, G., Altwegg, K., Bianchi, E., Bizzarro, M., Blum, J., Bonal, L., Capaccioni, F., Codella, C., Choukroun, M., Cottin, H., Davidsson, B., De Sanctis, M. C., Drozdovskaya, M., Engrand, C., Galand, M., Güttler, C., Henri, P., Herique, A., Ivanoski, S., Kokotanekova, R., Levasseur-Regourd, A. -C., Miller, K. E., Rotundi, A., Schönbächler, M., Snodgrass, C., Thomas, N., Tubiana, C., Ulamec, S., Vincent, J. -B.
Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Observatoire de Paris, Sorbonne Université, Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique, Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, National Institute for Astrophysics, University of Bern, Institute of Applied Physics, Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Université Grenoble Alpes, University of Copenhagen, Natural History Museum of Denmark, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques, Center for Space and Habitability, Université Paris-Sud, Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules, Imperial College London, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Université d'Orléans, Lagrange Laboratory, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace, Trieste Astronomical Observatory, European Southern Observatory, European Southern Observatory, Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux, observations spatiales, Southwest Research Institute, ETH Zurich, Royal Observatory, University of Edinburgh, Université Paris-Saclay, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)
Language: English
Topic: Astro and Planetary Science
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2963381676