Abstract
Whitepaper #335 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: surface/geological evolution; primitive bodies; solar system formation, dynamics processes, and chronology
Highlights
This white paper summarizes the open questions about the Haumea system and family and advocates for their in-situ exploration, which would provide for invaluable insight into the history and on-going physical processes of the Kuiper Belt
Technology development to allow for maximum science return at the Haumea system, including SmallSat bus and deployment technologies and ;
The decade is the ideal time to consider a mission to the Haumea dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt: we are at a turning point in our understanding of the role and interactions of small icy bodies in our Solar System’s history; numerous observations and an occultation of Haumea have provided for a solid knowledge base on the target, allowing maximizing scientific return and reducing risks associated with a space mission; and New Horizons has demonstrated that such a distant world is within reach of a space mission
Summary
Since its discovery in 2003, the dwarf planet Haumea has revealed itself to be one of the most intriguing bodies of the Solar System. It is speculated that this dwarf planet could be the remnant core of a larger, differentiated Kuiper Blet Object (KBO), the mantle of which was disrupted by a giant impact All these elements indicate that the Haumea system holds key information for several formation and evolution processes of bodies in the Kuiper Belt and the dwarf planet is one of the most observed objects in that region of the Solar System. This white paper summarizes the open questions about the Haumea system and family and advocates for their in-situ exploration, which would provide for invaluable insight into the history and on-going physical processes of the Kuiper Belt. Mission Architecture Design, including detailed trajectory and transfer analysis to reach the Haumea system in reasonable flight times (~15 years or less); Technology development to allow for maximum science return at the Haumea system, including SmallSat bus and deployment technologies and ; Mission support and science enhancement through Earth-based observations, numerical modeling, and laboratory work
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