Abstract
We describe Caroline, a mission proposal submitted to the European Space Agency in 2010 in response to the Cosmic Visions M3 call for medium-sized missions. Caroline would have travelled to a Main Belt Comet (MBC), characterizing the object during a flyby, and capturing dust from its tenuous coma for return to Earth. MBCs are suspected to be transition objects straddling the traditional boundary between volatile–poor rocky asteroids and volatile–rich comets. The weak cometary activity exhibited by these objects indicates the presence of water ice, and may represent the primary type of object that delivered water to the early Earth. The Caroline mission would have employed aerogel as a medium for the capture of dust grains, as successfully used by the NASA Stardust mission to Comet 81P/Wild 2. We describe the proposed mission design, primary elements of the spacecraft, and provide an overview of the science instruments and their measurement goals. Caroline was ultimately not selected by the European Space Agency during the M3 call; we briefly reflect on the pros and cons of the mission as proposed, and how current and future mission MBC mission proposals such as Castalia could best be approached.
Highlights
Introduction and mission overviewAsteroids and comets are of interest because they provide a way to probe the protoplanetary disk from which our solar system formed
In each case, when combined with data from the sample return and in-situ study performed by Caroline, we would be provided with information to help constrain where in the Solar System the Main Belt Comet (MBC) formed relative to comets, S- and C-type asteroids
Caroline was not selected by ESA for further study following the M3 call for mission proposals
Summary
A 5.4 year mission profile was proposed for Caroline, that would allow the encounter between the spacecraft and MBC 133P, during one of the latter’s predicted active periods. In defining the mission trajectory, several constraints were imposed: an encounter with 133P during its active season a launch in 2021–2022 with a mission duration of less than 8 years a flyby velocity less than 6 km sÀ1 an approach velocity of the sample capsule to Earth of less than 11 km sÀ1. Under these constraints, a feasible mission scenario was found which could have been further adjusted if required—. More efficient trajectories could have been possible; optimization would have been conducted during the mission study phase
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