Instrumentation for Producing Groundbreaking Planetary & Astrophysical Science on an Interstellar Probe Mission (Planetary Science White Paper)

Carey Lisse (1) , Michael Zemcov (1) , Kathleen Mandt (1) , Kirby D Runyon (1) , Caitlin Ahrens (2) , Chas Beichman (3) , James Boc (3) , Pontus Brandt (1) , Josh Cahill (1) , Alice Cocoros (1) , Bruce Draine (4) , Chester E. Harman (5) , Mihaly Horanyi (6) , Noam Izenberg (1) , Rosine Lallement (7) , Anny Chantal Levasseur-Regourd (8) , Ralph Mcnutt (1) , Andrew R. Poppe (9) , Michael Paul (1) , Abigail Rymer (1) , Veerle Sterken (10) , Jamey Szalay (4)

1 APL - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory [Laurel, MD]
2 University of Arkansas [Fayetteville]
3 JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4 Department of Astrophysical Sciences [Princeton]
5 GISS - NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
6 LASP - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder]
7 GEPI - Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique, Instrumentation
8 PLANETO - LATMOS
9 SSL - Space Sciences Laboratory [Berkeley]
10 ETH Zürich - Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology [Zürich]

Astrophysical measurements at distances outside of 50 AU from the Sun enable transformative science that are impossible to obtain from inner system platforms, such as a: Complete census of all interplanetary dust and ice permeating the solar system, and direct comparison of its distribution to exo-circumstellar disks; Stable time-domain astronomy of exoplanet transit lightcurves, exoplanet microlensing events, supernova explosions, and black hole mergers; and Measurement of all the light created by planets, stars, and galaxies over the entire history of the Universe. A single powerful instrument could be used to obtain these measurements, and to perform New Horizons-style flybys of dwarf planets & KBOs, potentially doubling the number of these kinds of worlds that have been visited and studied in great detail [1]. Though likely transformative, opportunities to fly instrumentation capable of these measurements are rare, and a mission to the distant solar system that includes instrumentation expressly designed to perform astrophysical science has never been flown. The proposed Interstellar Probe Mission (ISP; [2-5]) provides just such an opportunity for launch in 2030. In this White Paper, we describe an instrument concept to ride along on a Heliospheric Division Interstellar Probe Mission that would enable groundbreaking science via cross-divisional collaboration and cooperation within NASA (c.f. [6]).

Domaines: Instrumentation et méthodes pour l'astrophysique [astro-ph.IM]

Carey Lisse, Michael Zemcov, Kathleen Mandt, Kirby D Runyon, Caitlin Ahrens, et al.. Instrumentation for Producing Groundbreaking Planetary & Astrophysical Science on an Interstellar Probe Mission (Planetary Science White Paper). 2020. ⟨insu-03133642⟩