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A Review of the in Situ Probe Designs from Recent Ice Giant Mission Concept Studies

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Abstract

For the Ice Giants, atmospheric entry probes provide critical measurements not attainable via remote observations. Including the 2013–2022 NASA Planetary Decadal Survey, there have been at least five comprehensive atmospheric probe engineering design studies performed in recent years by NASA and ESA. International science definition teams have assessed the science requirements, and each recommended similar measurements and payloads to meet science goals with current instrument technology. The probe system concept has matured and converged on general design parameters that indicate the probe would include a 1-meter class aeroshell and have a mass around 350 to 400-kg. Probe battery sizes vary, depending on the duration of a post-release coast phase, and assumptions about heaters and instrument power needs. The various mission concepts demonstrate the need for advanced power and thermal protection system development. The many completed studies show an Ice Giant mission with an in situ probe is feasible and would be welcomed by the international science community.

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Notes

  1. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13117/vision-and-voyages-for-planetary-science-in-the-decade-2013-2022.

  2. https://sites.nationalacademies.org/cs/groups/ssbsite/documents/webpage/ssb_059323.pdf.

  3. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/icegiants/mission_study/Full-Report.pdf.

  4. http://sci.esa.int/cosmic-vision/38542-esa-br-247-cosmic-vision-space-science-for-europe-2015-2025/.

  5. https://www.cosmos.esa.int/web/voyage-2050.

  6. http://sci.esa.int/cosmic-vision/53261-report-on-science-themes-for-the-l2-and-l3-missions/.

  7. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20130014035.pdf.

  8. http://sci.esa.int/future-missions-department/61307-cdf-study-report-ice-giants/.

  9. http://sci.esa.int/sci-fmp/47568-pep-assessment-study-internal-final-presentation/.

  10. https://sci.esa.int/web/future-missions-department/-/61471-epig-cdf-study-summary-report.

  11. https://rps.nasa.gov/resources/58/multi-mission-radioisotope-thermoelectric-generator-mmrtg/?category=fact_sheets.

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Acknowledgements

Fletcher was supported by a Royal Society Research Fellowship and European Research Council Consolidator Grant (under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, grant agreement No. 723890) at the University of Leicester. Masters was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. Mousis and Coustenis acknowledge support from CNES.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA

    A. A. Simon

  2. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    L. N. Fletcher

  3. Physics Department, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YW, UK

    C. Arridge

  4. Caltech/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Dr, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    D. Atkinson, M. Hofstadter & K. Reh

  5. LESIA, Paris Observatory, CNRS, PSL Univ., Sorbonne Univ., Univ. Paris, 92195, Meudon, France

    A. Coustenis

  6. Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo” CISAS, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Venezia 15, 35131, Padova, Italy

    F. Ferri

  7. Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    A. Masters

  8. CNRS, CNES, LAM, Aix Marseille Univ., Marseille, France

    O. Mousis

  9. Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology, INAF-IAPS, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133, Roma, Italy

    D. Turrini

  10. European Space Agency, ESTEC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

    O. Witasse

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  1. A. A. Simon
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Correspondence to A. A. Simon.

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In Situ Exploration of the Ice Giants: Science and Technology

Edited by Olivier J. Mousis and David H. Atkinson

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Simon, A.A., Fletcher, L.N., Arridge, C. et al. A Review of the in Situ Probe Designs from Recent Ice Giant Mission Concept Studies. Space Sci Rev 216, 17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-0639-1

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