Abstract
Abstract Orbital geophysical investigations of Enceladus are critical to understanding its energy budget. In this paper, we identified key science questions for the geophysical exploration of Enceladus, answering which would support future assessment of Enceladus’ astrobiological potential. Using a Bayesian framework, we explored how science requirements map to measurement requirements. We performed mission simulations to study the sensitivity of single-spacecraft and dual-spacecraft configurations to static gravity and tidal Love numbers of Enceladus. We find that mapping Enceladus’ gravity field, improving the accuracy of the physical libration amplitude, and measuring Enceladus’ tidal response would provide critical constraints on the internal structure and establish a framework for assessing Enceladus’ long-term habitability. This kind of investigation could be carried out as part of a life search mission at little additional resource requirements.
Highlights
Enceladus—a cryovolcanically active and apparently habitable satellite in the Saturn system—challenges our understanding of geodynamical processes governing the evolution of ocean worlds (Waite et al 2017; McKay et al 2018)
We identified key science questions for the geophysical exploration of Enceladus, answering which would support future assessment of Enceladus’ astrobiological potential
We have identified the following interrelated Priority Science Questions that should be addressed by future geophysical observations of Enceladus: Quantity
Summary
Anton I. Ermakov ,1 Ryan S. Park ,2 Javier Roa ,2 Julie C. Castillo-Rogez ,2 James T. Keane ,2 Francis Nimmo,3 Edwin S. Kite ,4 Christophe Sotin,5 T. Joseph W. Lazio,2 Gregor Steinbrugge,6 Samuel M. Howell ,2 Bruce G. Bills,2 Douglas J. Hemingway,7 Vishnu Viswanathan ,8, 9 Gabriel Tobie,10 Valery Lainey11 — 4800 Oak Grove Dr Pasadena, CA 91109, USA 3Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa-Cruz Santa-Cruz, CA 95064, USA Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA 9University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Cir Baltimore, MD 21250, USA 10Laboratoire de Planetologie et Geodynamique CNRS/Universite de Nantes, France 11IMCCE, Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universite, Univ. Lille 77 Avenue Denfert-Rochereau
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