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

Christopher S. Arridge, N. Achilleos, Jessica Agarwal, C. B. Agnor, R. Ambrosi, N. Andre, S. V. Badman, K. Baines, D. Banfield, M. Barthelemy, M. M. Bisi, J. Blum, T. Bocanegra-Bahamon, B. Bonfond, C. Bracken, P. Brandt, C. Briand, C. Briois, S. Brooks, J. Castillo-Rogez, T. Cavalie, B. Christophe, Andrew J. Coates, G. Collinson, J. F. Cooper, M. Costa-Sitja, R. Courtin, I. A. Daglis, Imke De Pater, M. Desai, D. Dirkx, M. K. Dougherty, R. W. Ebert, Gianrico Filacchione, Leigh N. Fletcher, J. Fortney, I. Gerth, D. Grassi, D. Grodent, Eberhard Grün, J. Gustin, M. Hedman, R. Helled, P. Henri, Sebastien Hess, J. K. Hillier, M. H. Hofstadter, R. Holme, M. Horanyi, George B. Hospodarsky, S. Hsu, P. Irwin, C. M. Jackman, O. Karatekin, Sascha Kempf, E. Khalisi, K. Konstantinidis, H. Kruger, William S. Kurth, C. Labrianidis, V. Lainey, L. L. Lamy, Matthieu Laneuville, D. Lucchesi, A. Luntzer, J. MacArthur, A. Maier, A. Masters, S. McKenna-Lawlor, H. Melin, A. Milillo, Georg Moragas-Klostermeyer, Achim Morschhauser, J. I. Moses, O. Mousis, N. Nettelmann, F. M. Neubauer, T. Nordheim, B. Noyelles, G. S. Orton, Mathew Owens, R. Peron, C. Plainaki, F. Postberg, N. Rambaux, K. Retherford, Serge Reynaud, E. Roussos, C. T. Russell, Am. Rymer, R. Sallantin, A. Sanchez-Lavega, O. Santolik, J. Saur, Km. Sayanagi, P. Schenk, J. Schubert, N. Sergis, E. C. Sittler, A. Smith, Frank Spahn, Ralf Srama, T. Stallard, V. Sterken, Zoltan Sternovsky, M. Tiscareno, G. Tobie, F. Tosi, M. Trieloff, D. Turrini, E. P. Turtle, S. Vinatier, R. Wilson, P. Zarkat

  • Giant planets helped to shape the conditions we see in the Solar System today and they account for more than 99% of the mass of the Sun's planetary system. They can be subdivided into the Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) and the Gas Giants (Jupiter and Saturn), which differ from each other in a number of fundamental ways. Uranus, in particular is the most challenging to our understanding of planetary formation and evolution, with its large obliquity, low self-luminosity, highly asymmetrical internal field, and puzzling internal structure. Uranus also has a rich planetary system consisting of a system of inner natural satellites and complex ring system, five major natural icy satellites, a system of irregular moons with varied dynamical histories, and a highly asymmetrical magnetosphere. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have explored Uranus, with a flyby in 1986, and no mission is currently planned to this enigmatic system. However, a mission to the uranian system would open a new window on the origin and evolution of the SolarGiant planets helped to shape the conditions we see in the Solar System today and they account for more than 99% of the mass of the Sun's planetary system. They can be subdivided into the Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) and the Gas Giants (Jupiter and Saturn), which differ from each other in a number of fundamental ways. Uranus, in particular is the most challenging to our understanding of planetary formation and evolution, with its large obliquity, low self-luminosity, highly asymmetrical internal field, and puzzling internal structure. Uranus also has a rich planetary system consisting of a system of inner natural satellites and complex ring system, five major natural icy satellites, a system of irregular moons with varied dynamical histories, and a highly asymmetrical magnetosphere. Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have explored Uranus, with a flyby in 1986, and no mission is currently planned to this enigmatic system. However, a mission to the uranian system would open a new window on the origin and evolution of the Solar System and would provide crucial information on a wide variety of physicochemical processes in our Solar System. These have clear implications for understanding exoplanetary systems. In this paper we describe the science case for an orbital mission to Uranus with an atmospheric entry probe to sample the composition and atmospheric physics in Uranus' atmosphere. The characteristics of such an orbiter and a strawman scientific payload are described and we discuss the technical challenges for such a mission. This paper is based on a white paper submitted to the European Space Agency's call for science themes for its large-class mission programme in 2013.show moreshow less

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Author details:Christopher S. Arridge, N. Achilleos, Jessica Agarwal, C. B. Agnor, R. Ambrosi, N. Andre, S. V. Badman, K. Baines, D. Banfield, M. Barthelemy, M. M. Bisi, J. Blum, T. Bocanegra-Bahamon, B. Bonfond, C. Bracken, P. Brandt, C. Briand, C. Briois, S. Brooks, J. Castillo-Rogez, T. Cavalie, B. Christophe, Andrew J. Coates, G. Collinson, J. F. Cooper, M. Costa-Sitja, R. Courtin, I. A. Daglis, Imke De PaterORCiDGND, M. Desai, D. Dirkx, M. K. Dougherty, R. W. Ebert, Gianrico FilacchioneORCiD, Leigh N. Fletcher, J. Fortney, I. Gerth, D. Grassi, D. Grodent, Eberhard GrünGND, J. Gustin, M. Hedman, R. Helled, P. Henri, Sebastien Hess, J. K. Hillier, M. H. Hofstadter, R. Holme, M. Horanyi, George B. HospodarskyORCiD, S. Hsu, P. Irwin, C. M. Jackman, O. Karatekin, Sascha KempfORCiD, E. Khalisi, K. Konstantinidis, H. Kruger, William S. KurthORCiD, C. Labrianidis, V. Lainey, L. L. Lamy, Matthieu Laneuville, D. Lucchesi, A. Luntzer, J. MacArthur, A. Maier, A. Masters, S. McKenna-Lawlor, H. Melin, A. Milillo, Georg Moragas-Klostermeyer, Achim MorschhauserORCiD, J. I. Moses, O. Mousis, N. Nettelmann, F. M. Neubauer, T. Nordheim, B. Noyelles, G. S. Orton, Mathew Owens, R. Peron, C. Plainaki, F. Postberg, N. Rambaux, K. Retherford, Serge Reynaud, E. Roussos, C. T. Russell, Am. Rymer, R. Sallantin, A. Sanchez-Lavega, O. Santolik, J. Saur, Km. Sayanagi, P. Schenk, J. Schubert, N. Sergis, E. C. Sittler, A. Smith, Frank SpahnORCiDGND, Ralf SramaORCiDGND, T. Stallard, V. Sterken, Zoltan SternovskyORCiD, M. Tiscareno, G. Tobie, F. Tosi, M. Trieloff, D. Turrini, E. P. Turtle, S. Vinatier, R. Wilson, P. Zarkat
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2014.08.009
ISSN:0032-0633
Title of parent work (English):Planetary and space science
Publisher:Elsevier
Place of publishing:Oxford
Publication type:Article
Language:English
Year of first publication:2014
Publication year:2014
Release date:2017/03/26
Tag:Atmosphere; Magnetosphere; Natural satellites; Planetary interior; Rings; Uranus
Volume:104
Number of pages:19
First page:122
Last Page:140
Funding institution:Royal Society University Research Fellowships
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie
Peer review:Referiert
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