KBO Discovery Mission Michael Crawford Ben Klein Laura Weber

What is the Kuiper Belt? Disc-shaped region of icy bodies Has 3 dwarf planets (Pluto) Includes comets beyond orbit of Neptune Similar to asteroid belt, but far larger Consists of mainly small bodies, possible remnants from Solar System formation KBO = Kuiper Belt Objects Composed largely of frozen volatiles (methane, ammonia, water)

What is the KBO Discovery Mission? What has preceded it? New Horizons! Planetary Telescope Connections between weather and climate in giant planet atmospheres, satellites, and their external environments Flexible launch dates; primary mission completed by mid-2024

Decadal Science Questions to Answer 1.Smooth Migration vs. Catastrophic Scattering? 2.Kuiper belt - Jupiter Trojan connection? 3.Pair-wise accretion vs. gravitational collapse?

Decadal Science Questions to Answer 1.Smooth Migration vs. Catastrophic Scattering? 2.Kuiper belt - Jupiter Trojan connection? 3.Pair-wise accretion vs. gravitational collapse?

3 Science Objectives 1.Migration of the Giant Planets 2.Cause of Eruptions from Active Moons 3.Engine of Giant Planet Atmospheres & Space Weather

Simple Mission Design No new technologies Two high-heritage science instruments:

Telescope Characteristics

MISSION 1: Small Bodies Survey of Trojans, Centaurs, and KBOs Thousands of known (and maybe some unknown) outer solar system objects Infrared, visible color, and detection of frozen water

MISSION 1: Small Bodies Smooth Migration vs Dynamic Instability Smooth - Jupiter Trojans originated near Jupiter or closer to the sun Dynamic- Trojans originated from Kuiper Belt region

MISSION 1: Small Bodies Slow Pair-wise Accretion vs Gravitational collapse Accretion- tiny particles collide and stick together Collapse - mass accumulates through gravitational pull

MISSION 2: Satellite Systems of the Giant Planets Kuiper succeeds in understanding planetary satellites Decadal Approach Consequences of inaccurate data due to changing UV emissions

MISSION 2: Satellite Systems of the Giant Planets Endogenic and Exogenic Processes affecting moons Are plumes brightness affected by Jupiter tidal effect, magnetosphere, or internal conditions like Earth’s volcanoes?

MISSION 2: Satellite Systems of the Giant Planets Io-Jupiter System Abundance of plume and volcanic activity on Io Sputtering effect caused by magnetospheric variability

MISSION 3: Giant Planets Atmospheres & Magnetospheres KUIPER will observer ice giants over different timescales Focus on wind tracers, auroras, vortices, solar wind effects, and zonal jets

MISSION 3: Giant Planets Atmospheres & Magnetospheres Giant Planet Atmosphere Dynamics Test the hypothesis that jets and eddies maintain a closed loop (over hours to years) Characterize and study the rates and effects of small impacts Test whether convective events replenish energy into these eddie-jet systems

MISSION 3: Giant Planets Atmospheres & Magnetospheres Determine the physics of magnetospheric and auroral processes of giant planets Observe the effects of the solar wind vs internal processes in controlling the magnetospheres Understand how giant planet magnetospheres vary to extrapolate to exoplanet systems

Why Kuiper? Kuiper acquires observations with cadences and sensitivities that current ground-based and space-based assets have not and cannot be allocated to do Decadal science goals cannot be obtained with current resources Kuipers mission is complete in 3 years

Why Kuiper? Time built into the mission for guest astronomers and targets of opportunity Kuiper’s spatial resolution, spectral resolutions, far-UV to near-IR coverage, and substantial time-domain sampling will offer an efficient, affordable, and highly relevant facility Data can be used to inform for other missions

Why is this so important? "...a highly capable planetary space telescope in Earth orbit could be accomplished as a Discovery mission. Such a facility could support all solar system scientific research, not just that involving giant planets." ­ ‐ 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey, p. 20

Thank you for your time!! -- questions?