Future Missions to the Giant Planets that Can Advance Atmospheric Science Objectives

Mark D Hofstadter,Amy A Simon,Leigh N Fletcher,Adam Masters,Diego Turrini,Christopher S Arridge

doi:10.1007/s11214-020-00710-w

Abstract

Other papers in this special issue have discussed the diversity of planetary atmospheres and some of the key science questions for giant planet atmospheres to be addressed in the future. There are crucial measurements that can only be made by orbiters of giant planets and probes dropped into their atmospheres. To help the community be more effective developers of missions and users of data products, we summarize how NASA and ESA categorize their planetary space missions, and the restrictions and requirements placed on each category. We then discuss the atmospheric goals to be addressed by currently approved giant-planet missions as well as missions likely to be considered in the next few years, such as a joint NASA/ESA Ice Giant orbiter with atmospheric probe. Our focus is on interplanetary spacecraft, but we acknowledge the crucial role to be played by ground-based and near-Earth telescopes, as well as theoretical and laboratory work.

Highlights

Earlier papers in this special issue have laid out the nature of the planetary atmospheres we know of and— to the limits of our understanding—their histories and the important physical processes at work (e.g. Gaillard et al 2019; Mills et al 2019; Fletcher et al 2019; Showman 2019; Leconte et al 2019)
Summary and Conclusions Future missions to the giant planets of our solar system will play a crucial role in increasing our understanding of the diversity of planetary atmospheres
Diurnal, high-spatial, and temporal resolution offered from spacecraft, along with gravity and magnetic field measurements, allows us to better understand the dynamics and structure of these atmospheres

Summary

Introduction

Gaillard et al 2019; Mills et al 2019; Fletcher et al 2019; Showman 2019; Leconte et al 2019) They have speculated on atmospheres yet-to-be discovered. Our goal is to review what the currently planned giant planet missions can achieve, and outline the opportunities for future missions and some of the constraints upon them. In this way we hope to help the scientific community anticipate what atmospheric data sets will be available, help them provide useful inputs to the planning process of space agencies, and help the community identify measurement gaps that could trigger ideas for future mission proposals

Objectives

Conclusion