Volatiles in the Next Decade (2023-2032)

Nathan Roth,Sara Faggi,Stefanie Milam,Lori Feaga,Martin Cordiner,Manuela Lippi,Anthony Remijan,Geronimo Villanueva,Boncho Bonev,Yan Fernandez,Anita Cochran,Michael Disanti,John W Noonan,Neil Dello Russo,Michael Combi,Matthew Knight,Dennis Bodewits,Adam Mckay

doi:10.3847/25c2cfeb.14285328

Abstract

Whitepaper #198 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: primitive bodies; solar system formation, dynamics processes, and chronology; ground- and space-based telescopes

Highlights

Detectable than their progenitor species (H and OH for H2O; CO2+; multiple sulfur-bearing fragments)3; emission from reactions that are highly diagnostic of electron impact dissociation rates and local plasma temperatures; fragment species that can be used as proxies for species that do not have a dipole moment; and in the Extreme UV, the charge exchange interaction of solar wind alpha particles with the neutral gas in small body atmospheres
The study of comets affords a unique window into the birth, infancy, and subsequent history of the solar system
There is strong evidence that comets incorporated pristine interstellar material as well as processed nebular matter into their nuclei, providing insights into the composition and prevailing conditions over wide swaths of the solar nebula at the time of planet formation. Their populations bear a record spanning the life of the solar system

Summary

Introduction

Detectable than their progenitor species (H and OH for H2O; CO2+; multiple sulfur-bearing fragments)3; emission from reactions that are highly diagnostic of electron impact dissociation rates and local plasma temperatures; fragment species that can be used as proxies for species that do not have a dipole moment (atomic oxygen for O2); and in the Extreme UV, the charge exchange interaction of solar wind alpha particles with the neutral gas in small body atmospheres. The in-situ Rosetta MIRO sub-mm instrument mapped the near-nucleus coma of comet 67P in unprecedented detail6, but ground-based mm-wave observations continue to provide a more systematic method for measuring detailed compositions.

Results

Conclusion