AMBITION – comet nucleus cryogenic sample return

Bockelée‐Morvan, Dominique; Filacchione, G.; Altwegg, Kathrin; Bianchi, E.; Bizzarro, Martin; Blum, Jürgen; Bonal, L.; Capaccioni, F.; Choukroun, Mathieu; Codella, C.; Cottin, Hervé; Davidsson, B.; Sanctis, M. C. De; Drozdovskaya, M. N.; Engrand, C.; Galand, M.; Güttler, C.; Henri, Pierre; Hérique, Alain; Ivanoski, Stavro; Kokotanekova, Rosita; Levasseur-Regourd, Anny Chantal; Miller, Kelly E.; Rotundi, A.; Schönbächler, Maria; Snodgrass, C.; Thomas, N.; Tubiana, C.; Ulamec, S.; Vincent, Jean‐Baptiste

doi:10.1007/s10686-021-09770-4

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 197 publications

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“…Similar difficulties will remain in place for any future cometary mission relying on remote sensing and in-situ payloads. In order to overcome them we need a paradigm shift in cometary exploration by implementing a more ambitious exploration approach, such as by adopting a cryogenic sample return, in which a sample containing original cometary material, keeping unaltered the ices and refractory parts, it is returned to Earth to conduct composition analyses with multiple analitical techniques (Bockelée-Morvan et al 2021). A similar sample shall be the "Holy Grail" for the cosmochemistry community allowing to shed light on many unresolved questions: apart determining cometary material composition and solar or pre-solar origin, it would permit to understand cometary formation mechanisms, internal structure, dust-to-ice ratio and presence of prebiotic molecules.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comet nuclei composition and evolution

Filacchione¹,

Ciarniello²,

Fornasier³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Thanks to Rosetta orbiter's and Philae lander's data our knowledge of cometary nuclei composition has experienced a great advancement. The properties of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko nucleus are discussed and compared with other comets explored in the past by space missions. Cometary nuclei are made by a collection of ices, minerals, organic matter, and salts resulting in very dark and red-colored surfaces. When relatively far from the Sun (> 3AU), exposed water and carbon dioxide ices are found only in few locations of 67P/CG where the exposure of pristine subsurface layers or the recondensation of volatile species driven by the solar heating and local terrain morphology can sustain their temporary presence on the surface. The nucleus surface appears covered by a dust layer of variable thickness caused by the back-fall flux of coma grains. Depending on local morphology, some regions are less influenced by the back-fall and show consolidated terrains. Dust grains appear mostly dehydrated and are made by an assemblage of minerals, organic matter, and salts mixed together. Spectral analysis shows that the mineral phase is dominated by silicates and fine-grained opaques (possibly including Fe-sulfides such as troilite or pyrrhotite), and ammoniated salts. Aliphatic and aromatic groups, with the presence of the strong hydroxyl group, are identified within the organic matter. The surface composition and physical properties of cometary nuclei evolve with heliocentric distance and seasonal cycling: approaching perihelion the increase of the solar flux boost the activity through the sublimation of volatile species which in turn causes the erosion of surface layers, the exposure of ices, the activity in cliffs and pits, the collapse of overhangs and walls, and the mobilization and redistribution of dust. The evolution of color, composition, and texture changes occurring across different morphological and geographical regions of the nucleus are correlated with these processes. In this chapter we discuss 67P/CG nucleus composition and evolutionary processes as observed by Rosetta mission in the context of other comets previously explored by space missions or observed from Earth.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comet nuclei composition and evolution

Filacchione¹,

Ciarniello²,

Fornasier³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Such missions have been identified as future milestone in the context of the ESA Cosmic Vision 2050 [68]. The scenario considered here is reported in Table 11.…”

Section: E Comet Sample Return Missionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiobjective Design of Gravity-Assist Trajectories via Graph Transcription and Dynamic Programming

Bellome

Sánchez

Felicetti

et al. 2023

Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets

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Multiple gravity-assist (MGA) trajectory design requires the solution of a mixed-integer programming problem to find the best sequence among all possible combinations of candidate planets and dates for spacecraft maneuvers. Current approaches require computing times rising steeply with the number of control parameters, and they strongly rely on narrow search spaces. Moreover, the challenging multiobjective optimization needs to be tackled to appropriately inform the mission design with full extent of launch opportunities. This paper describes a methodology based upon a trajectory model to transcribe the mixed-integer space into a discrete graph made by grids of interconnected nodes. The model is based on Lambert arc grids obtained for a range of departure dates and flight times between two planets. A Tisserand-based criterion selects planets to pass by. Dynamic programming is extended to multiobjective optimization of MGA trajectories and used to explore the graph, guaranteeing Pareto optimality with only moderate computational effort. Robustness is ensured by evaluating the relationship between graph and mixed-integer spaces. Missions to Jupiter and Saturn alongside challenging comet sample return transfers involving long MGA sequences are discussed. These examples illustrate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed approach in capturing globally optimal solutions and wide Pareto fronts on complex search spaces.

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“…Furthermore, the morphological manifestations of the outbursts caused by such different mechanisms would be different because of the associated geophysical differences. Therefore, nearly continuous highresolution coma and surface morphology monitoring, ideally by an in situ rendezvous spacecraft mission (like the proposed AMBITION, Bockelée-Morvan et al 2021;Centaurus, Singer et al 2019b;or CHIMERA, Harris et al 2019), over extended timescales (e.g., months to years), should yield critical clues to help resolve the drivers of activity in this enigmatic object.…”

Section: Future In Situ Spacecraft Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study should utilize both remote near-Earth based sensing characterization and monitoring (see Womack et al 2020 and https://wirtanen.astro.umd.edu/29P/29P_obs. shtml), as well as direct exploration via a future in situ spacecraft mission (e.g., AMBITION, Bockelée-Morvan et al 2021;Centaurus, Singer et al 2019b;or CHIMERA, Harris et al 2019).…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1: A Rosetta Stone for Amorphous Water Ice and CO ↔ CO₂ Conversion in Centaurs and Comets?

Lisse¹,

Steckloff²,

Prialnik³

et al. 2022

Planet. Sci. J.

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Centaur 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1 (SW1) is a highly active object orbiting in the transitional “Gateway” region between the Centaur and Jupiter-family comet (JFC) regions. SW1 is unique among the Centaurs in that it experiences quasi-regular major outbursts and produces CO emission continuously; however, the source of the CO is unclear. We argue that, due to its very large size (∼32 km radius), SW1 is likely still responding, via amorphous water ice (AWI) conversion to crystalline water ice (CWI), to the “sudden” change in its external thermal environment produced by its Myrs-long dynamical migration from the Kuiper Belt to its current location at the inner edge of the Centaur region. It is this conversion process that is the source of the abundant CO and dust released from the object during its quiescent and outburst phases. If correct, these arguments have a number of important predictions testable via remote sensing and in situ spacecraft characterization, including the quick release on Myr timescales of CO from AWI conversion for any few kilometer-scale scattered disk Kuiper Belt Objects transiting into the inner system; that to date SW1 has only converted between 50% and 65% of its nuclear AWI to CWI; that volume changes on AWI conversion could have caused subsidence and cave-ins, but not significant mass wasting or crater loss; that SW1's coma should contain abundant amounts of CWI+CO2 “dust” particles; and that when SW1 transits into the inner system within the next 10,000 yr, it will be a very different kind of JFC.

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AMBITION – comet nucleus cryogenic sample return

Cited by 8 publications

References 197 publications

Comet nuclei composition and evolution

Comet nuclei composition and evolution

Multiobjective Design of Gravity-Assist Trajectories via Graph Transcription and Dynamic Programming

29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1: A Rosetta Stone for Amorphous Water Ice and CO ↔ CO₂ Conversion in Centaurs and Comets?

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AMBITION – comet nucleus cryogenic sample return

Cited by 8 publications

References 197 publications

Comet nuclei composition and evolution

Comet nuclei composition and evolution

Multiobjective Design of Gravity-Assist Trajectories via Graph Transcription and Dynamic Programming

29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1: A Rosetta Stone for Amorphous Water Ice and CO ↔ CO2 Conversion in Centaurs and Comets?

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Product

Resources

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29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1: A Rosetta Stone for Amorphous Water Ice and CO ↔ CO₂ Conversion in Centaurs and Comets?