GAUSS - genesis of asteroids and evolution of the solar system

Abstract

The goal of Project GAUSS (Genesis of Asteroids and evolUtion of the Solar System) is to return samples from the dwarf planet Ceres. Ceres is the most accessible candidate of ocean worlds and the largest reservoir of water in the inner Solar System. It shows active volcanism and hydrothermal activities in recent history. Recent evidence for the existence of a subsurface ocean on Ceres and the complex geochemistry suggest past habitability and even the potential for ongoing habitability. GAUSS will return samples from Ceres with the aim of answering the following top-level scientific questions: What is the origin of Ceres and what does this imply for the origin of water and other volatiles in the inner Solar System? What are the physical properties and internal structure of Ceres? What do they tell us about the evolutionary and aqueous alteration history of dwarf planets? What are the astrobiological implications of Ceres? Is it still habitable today? What are the mineralogical connections between Ceres and our current collections of carbonaceous meteorites?

Science Drivers for the Future Exploration of Ceres: From Solar System Evolution to Ocean World Science

“…However, only a sample return mission can fully retire questions about Ceres' origin and the habitability potential of its residual brines. A mission returning a sample from Ceres' evaporites would address crosscutting astrobiology goals pertinent to ocean worlds and is also being recommended by independent groups (Burbine & Greenwood 2020;Gassot et al 2020;Shi et al 2021).…”

ORIGO: A mission concept to challenge planetesimal formation theories

“…Considerable development has been put into the design of SD 2 aboard Philae Di Lizia et al (2016), leading to experience that has been partly re-used e.g., for the design of the ExoMars drill Re et al ( 2008). Drilling will likely be an important part of other missions, including sample-return missions to asteroids and dwarf planets (Shi et al, 2021), and the exploration of the Moon (Savoia et al, 2017). For ORIGO at least four scenarios need to be studied.…”

Space-Based Data Centers and Cooling: Feasibility Analysis via Multi-Criteria and Query Search for Water-Bearing Asteroids Showing Novel Underlying Regular and Symmetric Patterns

“…The study by Shi et al [14] focuses on the origin of water. It also focuses on the occurrence of water in various forms in different objects in the asteroid belt and in Ceres.…”

“…However, it is also pointed out that there is a need to analyze meteorite samples from Ceres. In this regard, the study presented by Shi et al [14] discusses different space expeditions to Ceres. Examples of the missions identified in this regard are Project GAUSS and the NASA Dawn mission.…”