Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter

Research

Electronic data

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Published

Standard

The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission. / Cohen, Ian; Beddingfield, Chloe; Chancia, Robert et al.
In: The Planetary Science Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, 58, 08.03.2022.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Cohen, I, Beddingfield, C, Chancia, R, DiBraccio, GA, Hedman, M, MacKenzie, S, Mauk, BH, Sayanagi, KM, Soderlund, K, Turtle, EP, Ahrens, C, Arridge, C, Brooks, S, Bunce, EJ, Charnoz, S, Coustenis, A, Dillman, RA, Dutta, S, Fletcher, L, Harbison, RA, Helled, R, Holme, R, Jozwiak, L, Kasaba, Y, Kollman, P, Luszcz-Cook, S, Mandt, K, Mousis, O, Mura, A, Murakami, G, Parisi, M, Rymer, A, Stanley, S, Stephan, K, Vervack Jr., RJ, Wong, MH & Wurz, P 2022, 'The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission', The Planetary Science Journal, vol. 3, no. 3, 58. https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ac5113

APA

Cohen, I., Beddingfield, C., Chancia, R., DiBraccio, G. A., Hedman, M., MacKenzie, S., Mauk, B. H., Sayanagi, K. M., Soderlund, K., Turtle, E. P., Ahrens, C., Arridge, C., Brooks, S., Bunce, E. J., Charnoz, S., Coustenis, A., Dillman, R. A., Dutta, S., Fletcher, L., ... Wurz, P. (2022). The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission. The Planetary Science Journal, 3(3), Article 58. https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ac5113

Vancouver

Cohen I, Beddingfield C, Chancia R, DiBraccio GA, Hedman M, MacKenzie S et al. The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission. The Planetary Science Journal. 2022 Mar 8;3(3):58. doi: 10.3847/psj/ac5113

Author

Cohen, Ian ; Beddingfield, Chloe ; Chancia, Robert et al. / The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter : System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission. In: The Planetary Science Journal. 2022 ; Vol. 3, No. 3.

Bibtex

@article{6e2f1dcb79114276aeabf96da2f59406,
title = "The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission",
abstract = "Current knowledge of the Uranian system is limited to observations from the flyby of Voyager 2 and limited remote observations. However, Uranus remains a highly compelling scientific target due to the unique properties of many aspects of the planet itself and its system. Future exploration of Uranus must focus on cross-disciplinary science that spans the range of research areas from the planet's interior, atmosphere, and magnetosphere to the its rings and satellites, as well as the interactions between them. Detailed study of Uranus by an orbiter is crucial not only for valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system but also for providing ground truths for the understanding of exoplanets. As such, exploration of Uranus will not only enhance our understanding of the ice giant planets themselves but also extend to planetary dynamics throughout our solar system and beyond. The timeliness of exploring Uranus is great, as the community hopes to return in time to image unseen portions of the satellites and magnetospheric configurations. This urgency motivates evaluation of what science can be achieved with a lower-cost, potentially faster-turnaround mission, such as a New Frontiers–class orbiter mission. This paper outlines the scientific case for and the technological and design considerations that must be addressed by future studies to enable a New Frontiers–class Uranus orbiter with balanced cross-disciplinary science objectives. In particular, studies that trade scientific scope and instrumentation and operational capabilities against simpler and cheaper options must be fundamental to the mission formulation.",
author = "Ian Cohen and Chloe Beddingfield and Robert Chancia and G.A. DiBraccio and M. Hedman and Shannon MacKenzie and Mauk, {Barry H.} and Sayanagi, {Kunio M.} and Krista Soderlund and Turtle, {E. P.} and Caitlin Ahrens and Chris Arridge and Shawn Brooks and Bunce, {E. J.} and S. Charnoz and Athena Coustenis and Dillman, {Robert A.} and Soumyo Dutta and Leigh Fletcher and R.A. Harbison and R. Helled and R. Holme and Lauren Jozwiak and Y. Kasaba and P. Kollman and Statia Luszcz-Cook and Kathleen Mandt and O. Mousis and Alessandro Mura and G. Murakami and Marzia Parisi and Am. Rymer and Sabine Stanley and Katrin Stephan and {Vervack Jr.}, {Ronald J} and Wong, {Michael H} and Peter Wurz",
year = "2022",
month = mar,
day = "8",
doi = "10.3847/psj/ac5113",
language = "English",
volume = "3",
journal = "The Planetary Science Journal",
number = "3",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The case for a New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter

T2 - System science at an underexplored and unique world with a mid-scale mission

AU - Cohen, Ian

AU - Beddingfield, Chloe

AU - Chancia, Robert

AU - DiBraccio, G.A.

AU - Hedman, M.

AU - MacKenzie, Shannon

AU - Mauk, Barry H.

AU - Sayanagi, Kunio M.

AU - Soderlund, Krista

AU - Turtle, E. P.

AU - Ahrens, Caitlin

AU - Arridge, Chris

AU - Brooks, Shawn

AU - Bunce, E. J.

AU - Charnoz, S.

AU - Coustenis, Athena

AU - Dillman, Robert A.

AU - Dutta, Soumyo

AU - Fletcher, Leigh

AU - Harbison, R.A.

AU - Helled, R.

AU - Holme, R.

AU - Jozwiak, Lauren

AU - Kasaba, Y.

AU - Kollman, P.

AU - Luszcz-Cook, Statia

AU - Mandt, Kathleen

AU - Mousis, O.

AU - Mura, Alessandro

AU - Murakami, G.

AU - Parisi, Marzia

AU - Rymer, Am.

AU - Stanley, Sabine

AU - Stephan, Katrin

AU - Vervack Jr., Ronald J

AU - Wong, Michael H

AU - Wurz, Peter

PY - 2022/3/8

Y1 - 2022/3/8

N2 - Current knowledge of the Uranian system is limited to observations from the flyby of Voyager 2 and limited remote observations. However, Uranus remains a highly compelling scientific target due to the unique properties of many aspects of the planet itself and its system. Future exploration of Uranus must focus on cross-disciplinary science that spans the range of research areas from the planet's interior, atmosphere, and magnetosphere to the its rings and satellites, as well as the interactions between them. Detailed study of Uranus by an orbiter is crucial not only for valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system but also for providing ground truths for the understanding of exoplanets. As such, exploration of Uranus will not only enhance our understanding of the ice giant planets themselves but also extend to planetary dynamics throughout our solar system and beyond. The timeliness of exploring Uranus is great, as the community hopes to return in time to image unseen portions of the satellites and magnetospheric configurations. This urgency motivates evaluation of what science can be achieved with a lower-cost, potentially faster-turnaround mission, such as a New Frontiers–class orbiter mission. This paper outlines the scientific case for and the technological and design considerations that must be addressed by future studies to enable a New Frontiers–class Uranus orbiter with balanced cross-disciplinary science objectives. In particular, studies that trade scientific scope and instrumentation and operational capabilities against simpler and cheaper options must be fundamental to the mission formulation.

AB - Current knowledge of the Uranian system is limited to observations from the flyby of Voyager 2 and limited remote observations. However, Uranus remains a highly compelling scientific target due to the unique properties of many aspects of the planet itself and its system. Future exploration of Uranus must focus on cross-disciplinary science that spans the range of research areas from the planet's interior, atmosphere, and magnetosphere to the its rings and satellites, as well as the interactions between them. Detailed study of Uranus by an orbiter is crucial not only for valuable insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system but also for providing ground truths for the understanding of exoplanets. As such, exploration of Uranus will not only enhance our understanding of the ice giant planets themselves but also extend to planetary dynamics throughout our solar system and beyond. The timeliness of exploring Uranus is great, as the community hopes to return in time to image unseen portions of the satellites and magnetospheric configurations. This urgency motivates evaluation of what science can be achieved with a lower-cost, potentially faster-turnaround mission, such as a New Frontiers–class orbiter mission. This paper outlines the scientific case for and the technological and design considerations that must be addressed by future studies to enable a New Frontiers–class Uranus orbiter with balanced cross-disciplinary science objectives. In particular, studies that trade scientific scope and instrumentation and operational capabilities against simpler and cheaper options must be fundamental to the mission formulation.

U2 - 10.3847/psj/ac5113

DO - 10.3847/psj/ac5113

M3 - Journal article

VL - 3

JO - The Planetary Science Journal

JF - The Planetary Science Journal

IS - 3

M1 - 58

ER -