| 1. |
- Coustenis, A., et al.
(författare)
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TandEM : Titan and Enceladus mission
- 2009
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 23:3, s. 893-946
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- TandEM was proposed as an L-class (large) mission in response to ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 Call, and accepted for further studies, with the goal of exploring Titan and Enceladus. The mission concept is to perform in situ investigations of two worlds tied together by location and properties, whose remarkable natures have been partly revealed by the ongoing Cassini-Huygens mission. These bodies still hold mysteries requiring a complete exploration using a variety of vehicles and instruments. TandEM is an ambitious mission because its targets are two of the most exciting and challenging bodies in the Solar System. It is designed to build on but exceed the scientific and technological accomplishments of the Cassini-Huygens mission, exploring Titan and Enceladus in ways that are not currently possible (full close-up and in situ coverage over long periods of time). In the current mission architecture, TandEM proposes to deliver two medium-sized spacecraft to the Saturnian system. One spacecraft would be an orbiter with a large host of instruments which would perform several Enceladus flybys and deliver penetrators to its surface before going into a dedicated orbit around Titan alone, while the other spacecraft would carry the Titan in situ investigation components, i.e. a hot-air balloon (MontgolfiSre) and possibly several landing probes to be delivered through the atmosphere.
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| 2. |
- Grodent, Denis, et al.
(författare)
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Jupiter's Aurora Observed With HST During Juno Orbits 3 to 7
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 123:5, s. 3299-3319
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A large set of observations of Jupiter's ultraviolet aurora was collected with the Hubble Space Telescope concurrently with the NASA-Juno mission, during an eight-month period, from 30 November 2016 to 18 July 2017. These Hubble observations cover Juno orbits 3 to 7 during which Juno in situ and remote sensing instruments, as well as other observatories, obtained a wealth of unprecedented information on Jupiter's magnetosphere and the connection with its auroral ionosphere. Jupiter's ultraviolet aurora is known to vary rapidly, with timescales ranging from seconds to one Jovian rotation. The main objective of the present study is to provide a simplified description of the global ultraviolet auroral morphology that can be used for comparison with other quantities, such as those obtained with Juno. This represents an entirely new approach from which logical connections between different morphologies may be inferred. For that purpose, we define three auroral subregions in which we evaluate the auroral emitted power as a function of time. In parallel, we define six auroral morphology families that allow us to quantify the variations of the spatial distribution of the auroral emission. These variations are associated with changes in the state of the Jovian magnetosphere, possibly influenced by Io and the Io plasma torus and by the conditions prevailing in the upstream interplanetary medium. This study shows that the auroral morphology evolved differently during the five similar to 2week periods bracketing the times of Juno perijove (PJ03 to PJ07), suggesting that during these periods, the Jovian magnetosphere adopted various states.
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| 3. |
- Hue, V, et al.
(författare)
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Juno-UVS Observation of the Io Footprint During Solar Eclipse
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Space Physics. - : AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION. - 2169-9380 .- 2169-9402. ; 124:7, s. 5184-5199
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The two main ultraviolet-signatures resulting from the Io-magnetosphere interaction are the local auroras on Io's atmosphere, and the Io footprints on Jupiter. We study here how Io's daily eclipses affect the footprint. Previous observations showed that its atmosphere collapses in eclipse. While remote observers can observe Io's local auroras briefly when Io disappears behind Jupiter, Juno is able to follow the Io footprint in the unlit hemisphere. Theoretical models of the variability of the energy flux fed into the Alfven wings, ultimately powering the footprints, are not sufficiently constrained by observations. For the first time, we use observations of Io's footprint from the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) on Juno recorded as Io went into eclipse. We benchmark the trend of the footprint brightness using observations by UVS taken over Io's complete orbit and find that the footprint emitted power variation with Jupiter's rotation shows fairly consistent trends with previous observations. Two exploitable data sets provided measurements when Io was simultaneously in eclipse. No statistically significant changes were recorded as Io left and moved into eclipse, respectively, suggesting either that (i) Io's atmospheric densities within and outside eclipse are large enough to produce a saturated plasma interaction, that is, in the saturated state, changes in Io's atmospheric properties to first order do not control the total Alfvenic energy flux, (ii) the atmospheric collapse during the Juno observations was less than previously observed, or (iii) additional processes of the Alfven wings in addition to the Poynting flux generated at Io control the footprint luminosity.
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| 4. |
- Jones, G. H., et al.
(författare)
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The dust halo of Saturn's largest icy moon, Rhea
- 2008
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Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 319:5868, s. 1380-1384
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Saturn's moon Rhea had been considered massive enough to retain a thin, externally generated atmosphere capable of locally affecting Saturn's magnetosphere. The Cassini spacecraft's in situ observations reveal that energetic electrons are depleted in the moon's vicinity. The absence of a substantial exosphere implies that Rhea's magnetospheric interaction region, rather than being exclusively induced by sputtered gas and its products, likely contains solid material that can absorb magnetospheric particles. Combined observations from several instruments suggest that this material is in the form of grains and boulders up to several decimetres in size and orbits Rhea as an equatorial debris disk. Within this disk may reside denser, discrete rings or arcs of material.
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| 5. |
- Szalay, J.R., et al.
(författare)
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Oxygen production from dissociation of Europa’s water-ice surface
- 2024
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Ingår i: Nature Astronomy. - : Springer Nature. - 2397-3366. ; 8:5, s. 567-576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Jupiter’s moon Europa has a predominantly water-ice surface that is modified by exposure to its space environment. Charged particles break molecular bonds in surface ice, thus dissociating the water to ultimately produce H2 and O2, which provides a potential oxygenation mechanism for Europa’s subsurface ocean. These species are understood to form Europa’s primary atmospheric constituents. Although remote observations provide important global constraints on Europa’s atmosphere, the molecular O2 abundance has been inferred from atomic O emissions. Europa’s atmospheric composition had never been directly sampled and model-derived oxygen production estimates ranged over several orders of magnitude. Here, we report direct observations of H2+ and O2+ pickup ions from the dissociation of Europa’s water-ice surface and confirm these species are primary atmospheric constituents. In contrast to expectations, we find the H2 neutral atmosphere is dominated by a non-thermal, escaping population. We find 12 ± 6 kg s−1 (2.2 ± 1.2 × 1026 s−1) O2 are produced within Europa’s surface, less than previously thought, with a narrower range to support habitability in Europa’s ocean. This process is found to be Europa’s dominant exogenic surface erosion mechanism over meteoroid bombardment.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Roth, Lorenz, et al.
(författare)
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Constraints on an exosphere at Ceres from Hubble Space Telescope observations
- 2016
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Ingår i: Geophysical Research Letters. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 0094-8276 .- 1944-8007. ; 43:6, s. 2465-2472
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report far ultraviolet observations of Ceres obtained with the Cosmic Origin Spectrograph (COS) of the Hubble Space Telescope in the search for atomic emissions from an exosphere. The derived brightnesses at the oxygen lines at 1304 Å and 1356 Å are consistent with zero signals within the 1σ propagated statistical uncertainties. The OI 1304 Å brightness of 0.12 ± 0.20 Rayleighs can be explained by solar resonant scattering from an atomic oxygen column density of (8.2 ± 13.4) × 1010 cm-2. Assuming that O is produced by photodissociation of H2O, we derive an upper limit for H2O abundance and compare it to previous observations. Our upper limit is well above the expected O brightness for a tenuous sublimated H2O exosphere, but it suggests that H2O production with a rate higher than 4 × 1026 molecules s-1 was not present at the time of the COS observation. Additionally, we derive an extremely low geometric albedo of ∼1% in the 1300 Å to 1400 Å range.
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| 9. |
- Arridge, Christopher S., et al.
(författare)
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Uranus Pathfinder : exploring the origins and evolution of Ice Giant planets
- 2012
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Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 33:2-3, s. 753-791
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The "Ice Giants" Uranus and Neptune are a different class of planet compared to Jupiter and Saturn. Studying these objects is important for furthering our understanding of the formation and evolution of the planets, and unravelling the fundamental physical and chemical processes in the Solar System. The importance of filling these gaps in our knowledge of the Solar System is particularly acute when trying to apply our understanding to the numerous planetary systems that have been discovered around other stars. The Uranus Pathfinder (UP) mission thus represents the quintessential aspects of the objectives of the European planetary community as expressed in ESA's Cosmic Vision 2015-2025. UP was proposed to the European Space Agency's M3 call for medium-class missions in 2010 and proposed to be the first orbiter of an Ice Giant planet. As the most accessible Ice Giant within the M-class mission envelope Uranus was identified as the mission target. Although not selected for this call the UP mission concept provides a baseline framework for the exploration of Uranus with existing low-cost platforms and underlines the need to develop power sources suitable for the outer Solar System. The UP science case is based around exploring the origins, evolution, and processes at work in Ice Giant planetary systems. Three broad themes were identified: (1) Uranus as an Ice Giant, (2) An Ice Giant planetary system, and (3) An asymmetric magnetosphere. Due to the long interplanetary transfer from Earth to Uranus a significant cruise-phase science theme was also developed. The UP mission concept calls for the use of a Mars Express/Rosetta-type platform to launch on a Soyuz-Fregat in 2021 and entering into an eccentric polar orbit around Uranus in the 2036-2037 timeframe. The science payload has a strong heritage in Europe and beyond and requires no significant technology developments.
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| 10. |
- Bockelee-Morvan, D., et al.
(författare)
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Composition and thermal properties of Ganymede's surface from JWST/NIRSpec and MIRI observations
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 681, s. A27-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. We present the first spectroscopic observations of Ganymede by the James Webb Space Telescope undertaken in August 2022 as part of the proposal "ERS observations of the Jovian system as a demonstration of JWST's capabilities for Solar System science".Aims. We aimed to investigate the composition and thermal properties of the surface, and to study the relationships of ice and non-water-ice materials and their distribution.Methods. NIRSpec IFU (2.9-5.3 mu m) and MIRI MRS (4.9-28.5 mu m) observations were performed on both the leading and trailing hemispheres of Ganymede, with a spectral resolution of similar to 2700 and a spatial sampling of 0.1 to 0.17 '' (while the Ganymede size was similar to 1.68 ''). We characterized the spectral signatures and their spatial distribution on the surface. The distribution of brightness temperatures was analyzed with standard thermophysical modeling including surface roughness.Results. Reflectance spectra show signatures of water ice, CO2, and H2O2. An absorption feature at 5.9 mu m, with a shoulder at 6.5 mu m, is revealed, and is tentatively assigned to sulfuric acid hydrates. The CO2 4.26-mu m band shows latitudinal and longitudinal variations in depth, shape, and position over the two hemispheres, unveiling different CO2 physical states. In the ice-rich polar regions, which are the most exposed to Jupiter's plasma irradiation, the CO2 band is redshifted with respect to other terrains. In the boreal region of the leading hemisphere, the CO2 band is dominated by a high wavelength component at similar to 4.27 mu m, consistent with CO2 trapped in amorphous water ice. At equatorial latitudes (and especially on dark terrains), the observed band is broader and shifted toward the blue, suggesting CO2 adsorbed on non-icy materials, such as minerals or salts. Maps of the H2O Fresnel peak area correlate with Bond albedo maps and follow the distribution of water ice inferred from H2O absorption bands. Amorphous ice is detected in the ice-rich polar regions, and is especially abundant on the northern polar cap of the leading hemisphere. Leading and trailing polar regions exhibit different H2O, CO2, and H2O2 spectral properties. However, in both hemispheres the north polar cap ice appears to be more processed than the south polar cap. A longitudinal modification of the H2O ice molecular structure and/or nanometer- and micrometer-scale texture, of diurnal or geographic origin, is observed in both hemispheres. Ice frost is tentatively observed on the morning limb of the trailing hemisphere, which possibly formed during the night from the recondensation of water subliming from the warmer subsurface. Reflectance spectra of the dark terrains are compatible with the presence of Na- and Mg-sulfate salts, sulfuric acid hydrates, and possibly phyllosilicates mixed with fine-grained opaque minerals, with a highly porous texture. Latitude and local time variations of the brightness temperatures indicate a rough surface with mean slope angles of 15 degrees-25 degrees and a low thermal inertia Gamma = 20 - 40 J m(-2) s(-0.5) K-1, consistent with a porous surface, with no obvious difference between the leading and trailing sides.
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