Uranus Pathfinder: exploring the origins and evolution of Ice Giant planets

Arridge, C. S.; Agnor, C. B.; André, Nicolas; Baines, K. H.; Fletcher, Leigh N.; Gautier, D.; Hofstadter, Mark; Jones, G. H.; Lamy, Laurent; Langevin, Y.; Mousis, O.; Nettelmann, Nadine; Russell, C. T.; Stallard, T.; Tiscareno, Matthew S.; Tobie, G.; Bacon, Andrew; Chaloner, C. P.; Guest, Michael; Kemble, Steve; Peacocke, L.; Achilleos, N.; Andert, T.; Banfield, D.; Barabash, S.; Barthélemy, Mathieu; Bertucci, C.; Brandt, P. C.; Cecconi, Baptiste; Chakrabarti, Supriya; Cheng, A.; Christensen, Ulrich R.; Christou, Apostolos; Coates, A. J.; Collinson, G.; Cooper, J. F.; Courtin, R.; Dougherty, M. K.; Ebert, R. W.; Entradas, Marta; Fazakerley, A. N.; Fortney, Jonathan J.; Galand, M.; Gustin, Jaques; Hedman, M. M.; Helled, Ravit; Henri, Pierre; Hess, S.; Holme, Richard; Karatekin, Özgür; Krupp, N.; Leisner, J. S.; Martín‐Torres, Javier; Masters, A.; Melin, Henrik; Miller, Steve; Müller‐Wodarg, I. C. F.; Noyelles, Benoît; Paranicas, C.; Pater, Imke de; Pätzold, M.; Prangé, Renée; Quémerais, Éric; Roussos, E.; Rymer, A. M.; Sánchez‐Lavega, A.; Saur, Joachim; Sayanagi, Kunio M.; Schenk, P.; Schubert, G.; Sergis, N.; Sohl, F.; Sittler, E. C.; Teanby, N. A.; Tellmann, S.; Turtle, E. P.; Vinatier, S.; Wahlund, J. E.; Zarka, Philippe

doi:10.1007/s10686-011-9251-4

Cited by 49 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…A specific prime science phase duration was not determined and depends sensitively on a number of factors, including the instrument payload and science orbits. However, we note that Arridge et al (2012) and Hubbard (2010) considered 620-and 431-day science phase durations, respectively. In some cases the exploration of Uranus can be seen as easier than Saturn, for example, particularly for the planet itself since a spacecraft can easily inject into a polar orbit.…”

Section: Strawman Mission Conceptmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Interplanetary transfers to Uranus have been studied in a number of mission analyses (Arridge et al, 2012;Hubbard, 2010) and demonstrate the feasibility of a mission to Uranus with current technology and including an interplanetary transfer between 10 and 16 years. The mission is feasible with high TRL conventional chemical propulsion and solar-electric propulsion employing ion engines provides potential gains in margins, available Δv and platform/instrumentation mass (e.g., Hubbard, 2010).…”

Section: Interplanetary Transfers and Orbital Entrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Arridge et al (2012) estimated the radiation dose for the Uranus Pathfinder mission concept using the SHEILDDOSE-2 software and found that the largest dose came from the cruise phase (18 krad behind 4 mm of Al) with only 2 krad per science orbit based on a scaled model of Earth's magnetosphere. The main critical issues for a Uranus mission are electrical power (Section 3.3.1), thermal control (Section 3.3.2), telemetry (Section 3.3.3), and cruise phase duration (Section 3.3.4).…”

Section: Critical Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paper represents the white paper on the scientific case for the exploration of Uranus that was submitted to this call (a compilation of these white papers can be found at http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/doc.cfm?fobjec tid=52029) and looks forward to future missions. This white paper followed the Uranus Pathfinder mission proposal that was submitted to ESA's medium-class (M-class) mission programme in 2010 which is described in Arridge et al (2012). In September 2013 a Uranus-focused workshop "Uranus beyond Voyager 2, from recent advances to future missions", was held at the Observatory of Paris (Meudon, France) and was attended by 90 scientists and engineers from 12 countries, interested in the scientific exploration of this unique planetary system (the detailed programme, abstracts and lists of participants is available at http://uranus.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The science case for an orbital mission to Uranus: Exploring the origins and evolution of ice giant planets

Arridge¹,

Achilleos²,

Agarwal³

et al. 2014

Planetary and Space Science

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Section: Strawman Mission Conceptmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Interplanetary Transfers and Orbital Entrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Critical Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The science case for an orbital mission to Uranus: Exploring the origins and evolution of ice giant planets

Arridge¹,

Achilleos²,

Agarwal³

et al. 2014

Planetary and Space Science

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“…In a scenario where, to balance between the different needs of the astrophysics community as in the recent selection of the science themes for the L2 and L3 missions 6 , ESA would devote the L4 and L6 missions to the exploration of these two giant planets, the launch of the L6 missions would occur in 2052 or later (assuming the temporal distance between L4, L5 and L6 is of 6 years as the nominal interval between L2 and L3): assuming travel times to Uranus and Neptune of about 13 and 16 years respectively, as in the scenarios assumed for the Uranus Pathfinder (Arridge et al 2012) and the OSS (Outer Solar System, Christophe et al 2012) mission proposals and in the studies conducted by ESA (ESOC 2010) and NASA , the completion of the two missions would occur no earlier than 2068, i.e. more than half a century from now.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The comparative exploration of the ice giant planets with twin spacecraft: Unveiling the history of our Solar System

Turrini

Politi

Peron

et al. 2014

Planetary and Space Science

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In the course of the selection of the scientific themes for the second and third L-class missions of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program of the European Space Agency, the exploration of the ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune was defined "a timely milestone, fully appropriate for an L class mission". Among the proposed scientific themes, we presented the scientific case of exploring both planets and their satellites in the framework of a single L-class mission and proposed a mission scenario that could allow to achieve this result. In this work we present an updated and more complete discussion of the scientific rationale and of the mission concept for a comparative exploration of the ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune and of their satellite systems with twin spacecraft. The first goal of comparatively studying these two similar yet extremely different systems is to shed new light on the ancient past of the Solar System and on the processes that shaped its formation and evolution. This, in turn, would reveal whether the Solar System and the very diverse extrasolar systems discovered so far all share a common origin or if different environments and mechanisms were responsible for their formation. A space mission to the ice giants would also open up the possibility to use Uranus and Neptune as templates in the study of one of the most abundant type of extrasolar planets in the galaxy. Finally, such a mission would allow a detailed study of the interplanetary and gravitational environments at a range of distances from the Sun poorly covered by direct exploration, improving the constraints on the fundamental theories of gravitation and on the behaviour of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field.

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Magnetic reconnection at Uranus' magnetopause

Masters

2014

JGR Space Physics

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The magnetosphere of Uranus has barely been explored by spacecraft but is distinct from other solar system magnetospheres in many respects. Determining how this magnetosphere is coupled to the solar wind is central to understanding energy flow through the system. Here we assess how the solar wind interacts with the Uranian magnetosphere via magnetic reconnection. Analytical models of conditions at the magnetopause are combined with current understanding of reconnection onset to predict where reconnection may occur on the boundary. The results suggest that conditions at Uranus' magnetopause are generally less favorable for reconnection than those at the magnetopause of any planet closer to the Sun, as a result of how typical solar wind parameters vary with heliocentric distance. The location of reconnection sites on the Uranian magnetopause is likely to be highly dependent on not only the interplanetary magnetic field orientation but also planetary longitude and season. Solar wind-magnetosphere coupling via magnetic reconnection may be stronger under near-solstice conditions than under near-equinox conditions. We discuss the typical reconnection electric field strength at Uranus' magnetopause and suggest that the typical reconnection voltage is considerably less than 40 kV. Complimentary assessments of other means of coupling to the solar wind (e.g., via a "viscous-like" interaction) are needed to establish the overall nature of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling at Uranus.

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Uranus Pathfinder: exploring the origins and evolution of Ice Giant planets

Cited by 49 publications

References 62 publications

The science case for an orbital mission to Uranus: Exploring the origins and evolution of ice giant planets

The science case for an orbital mission to Uranus: Exploring the origins and evolution of ice giant planets

The comparative exploration of the ice giant planets with twin spacecraft: Unveiling the history of our Solar System

Magnetic reconnection at Uranus' magnetopause

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