New Frontiers in the Solar System An Integrated Exploration Strategy (2003) / Chapter Skim
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1 Primitive Bodies: Building Blocks of the Solar System
1 Primitive Bodies: Building Blocks of the Solar System
Pages 13-37
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From page 13... ...
by severe meehmie~ fraeture.i Hem generated inside larger bodies has caused Hem to segregate He heavier materials (metals) from the lighter marries (rock md ice)
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From page 14... ...
have been hewed to eying degrees.~~5 Several populations of Base primitive bodies remain in different regions of the solar system' notably the aneroid belt the Kuiper Belt arid the Oort cloudy Some mem~rs of ~~e groupings have left their naive regions through gravit~iona1 mixing; indeed' objects ~~ originally formed in the outer ply - region arid thy were then expelled toward Heir current region by the gravitations action of ~e girt plays probably populated the entire Oort cloud. Life on Earth is Bought to be ~ product of the confluence of the necessary materials arid art event of origin.
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From page 15... ...
Their surfaces record their bombardment histories' hence the eollisiona1 history of He Kuiper Belt popul~ion.~4 I - Brat C~`ons Questions thy emerge from eonsider~ion of primitive bodies as building blocks of He solar system include the following: Are Here Pluto-size md larger bodies beyond Neptune: How do the compositions of Pluto-Charon md Triton relate to those of Kuiper Belt objects What are the basie physical properties (mass' density' size) of Kuiper Belt objects' Centaurs, md comet ~ What are the interior properties of all these bodies, md how do Hey differ from the surface compositions md properties: Are Hey differentiated: What are the surface properties md compositions of these bodies' md how do endogenous md exogenous processes affect them: Do Pluto mdior large Kuiper Belt objects show interns aetivi~, as Triton does: What are the compositions of comet nuclei' md how do they relay to Kuiper Belt objects: ~ What is the origin of He organic mater in carbonaceous meteorite parent bodies, md what are the parent bodies of the mmy different types: What organic materials occur in primitive bodies ~ various heliocentric distances: What is the origin of hydrated miner~s in He meteoric parent bodies' md what do fluid inclusions in meteorites tell us about conditions in the solar nebula md parent bodies: What is the origin of mierome~ori~s: What are the albedo md color sties of Centaurs, Kuiper Belt objects, md comet These questions are addressed md spelled out in more deviled questions in He remainder of this Shapiro Future D`~`ons A mission to Pluto-Charon md He Kuiper Belt em give critical' entirely new information on the physical properties of Pluto-Charon md members of the trms-Neptunim population.
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From page 16... ...
Other in~rplme~ry dub may have origins yet undiscovered md unexplored. I - brat C~`ons Questions thy emerge from He study of He varied md distribution of primitive bodies in He solar system include He following: Are Here undiscovered populations' such as asteroids interior to Ens orbits What is the radial distribution of dust in He solar system: What is the frequency of binary systems among asteroids md hms-Neptunim objects: What is the orbital distribution of long-period md new comet What are the orbital md size distributions of Cen~urs md Kuiper Belt objects:
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From page 17... ...
While some primitive bodies appear to have formed their present heliocentric disagrees, other were gravitationally sectored by the planets. Some primitive asteroids' domed, md planets satellites are fragment of larger objects produced by collisions among the bodies that originally acereted in We solar nebula.2i I - ort~t C~`ons Questions that emerge with respect to processes leading to the formation of primitive bodies include We following: ~ What was the chronology of formation of small bodies, md how md when did Pluto-Charon md some Kuiper Belt objects become binaries: ~ Where in We solar nebula did the classes of primitive bodies form: Which were subsequently hmspor~d' md which remain in place: ~ How did He Kuiper disk md the Oort cloud form' md what degree of compositional mixing is preserved: What forces caused He orbits of the Kuiper Belt objects to display such ~ wide rime of inelin~iom md eeeen~icities: ~ What was the balance between accretion md eollisiona1 destruction Usurious heliocentric dimples during the formation of the solar system: Are Here Trojan populations for Saturn, Urmus' md Neptune: When md how were He irregular satellites of the gist plme~ captured: Future D`~`ons ~namiea1 studies with improved eompu~tion~ tools will continue to shed new light on problems of He formation md interactions of He primitive bodies of the solar system through time.
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From page 18... ...
I - Brat C~`ons (questions thy emerge from this discussion of ~e physical processes affecting the evolution of primitive bodies include ~e following: What processes in the solar nebula Need to alar presolar material: Are comets differentiated, md do they tannin presolar material: What caused the differentiation of some asteroids: ~ What are all of Be space weltering processes that operas on the surfaces of bodies without atmospheres' md how have these processes varied over time: What is the time-history of eollisiona1 every md their consequences ~ various dimples from Be Sun: What are the thermal histories of all classes of comets; do Key become extinct or dormmt: Do Kuiper Belt objects exhibit evidence of transient Biospheres or epochs of interns aetivily: ~ What roles did tidal activity' atmospheric emape' md interns activity play in generating the strongly dichotomous appearance of Pluto-Charon: ~ Are Jupiter-family comets fragments of much larger Kuiper Belt objects' or are Hey Bill near their original size: Future D`~`ons Missions to small bodies throughout Be solar system' particularly missions ~~ return samples, will illuminate Be devils of Be evolution of primitive objects. Detailed Isis of IDPs Id meteorites' using established techniques Id Lose yet to be developed, will continue to elueida~ some processes that occur in space, insofar as the record is preserved.
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From page 19... ...
, the ice Tiaras (Urar~us arid Neptune) ' arid ~e ice dwarfs (Pluto, plus the Kuiper Belt objects)
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From page 20... ...
to HEW FR0~ IN =E 50~R HIM Do impacts lead to discrete arid long-lasting charges in ~e surface-~tmosphere regime: What volatiles md orgar~ics were delivered to the ~rrestria1 ply What fraction of impactors are comets vs. as~roids~ Future D`~`ons Computational studies of ~e interactions of impactors arid Heir targets cart further elucidate the nature of them processes in ~e early arid modern solar system.
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From page 21... ...
On Pluto arid Triton' photo processing of the methane fee may produce colored materials consisting of more complex organic ehemieals.~3 I - ort~t C~`ons Questions thy emerge regarding the present-day distribution of organic maker include the following: ~ Which asteroids (or comets or Kuiper Belt objects) are Be sources of the carbonaceous meteorites of various types, including the mierometeorites: What is the composition of organic mater in non-icy bodies: ~ What are Be compositions of organic mater that color some icy bodies' including Pluto Ed Be Kuiper Belt objects ~ What are the sources of IDPs: Future D`~`ons Answers to the key questions listed above will come from the in situ study of well-eharae~ri~d regions on comet Ed asteroid surfaces' as well as the study of samples returned from comets Ed asteroids.
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From page 22... ...
How Did Organic Matter Influence the Origin of Life on Earth and Other Planets' Organic molecular material' bow simple md complex' existed in He solar nebula md was included in acereting plmetesim~s ~ ices md over solids of low vol~ilily. Comets md Kuiper Belt objects are presumed to contain such material in Heir ices' while sever al classes of meteorites originating in the asteroid belt also contain large inventories of amino acids' earboxylie acids' md so on.36 Asteroids md comets impacting Earth md over terrestrial plme~ during the 1~ heavy bombardment delivered vast qumlities of these materials, perhaps providing the raw materials for the origin of life.37 I - Stat C~`ons Questions that emerge from studies of how organic maker from primitive bodies influenced the origin of Life on Earn md other plme~ include He following: ~ How does refractory OM v~ among He homed, asteroids, planets satellites' md other solar system bodies, md what does this tell us about the ehemie~ environment in which it formed: ~ What kind md qumlities of OM delivered to early Earth md other terres~ia1 planets survived the impact md He planetary environments ~ that time: Did exhaterreshia1 organic mater trigger or provide the feedstoek for early life on Eared Where else in the solar system does life exist or has it existed: Could He ~rres~ia1 L-en~tiomer preference result from the ehiralily of extraterrestrial OM: Future D`~072s While key questions em be formulated in He context of planets science, the future directions in this area of how OM from primitive bodies influenced He origin of life on Earth md over plme~ are probably in the field of biology.
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From page 23... ...
Medium-C1n~ Missions Kipper Bek Auto Explorer A reco~aissmee mission to two or more Kuiper Belt objects md Pluto-Charon . is ~ He top of the Primitive Bodies Panel rankings because of in compelling importune to the scientific objectives identified by He panel.
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From page 24... ...
Beyond Be proportional damage thy this does to Be global geology md composition mapping objectives ~~ Be SOT set for He mission' this loss of terrains will also severely affect Be ability to answer key questions about the extent md nature of the polar volatile reservoirs on Pluto' Be origin of the polar cap dichotomy on Pluto' md Be possibility that vol~iles capable of generating atmosphere on Charon are sequestered in polar regions. Atmospheric Science Good.
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From page 25... ...
In particular' He Trojan flyby would sample primitive material from the Jovian accretion region of the nebula; it would also allow ~ imports reealibr~ion of He bombardment flux on objects in the Jovian system md would offer new insight into space weathering md other processes affecting asteroids' particularly in the main belt. The Centaur flyby would provide insights into the nature of the Kuiper Belt, the nature md origin of short-period domed md their parent bodies' md aetivily in disks comets.
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From page 26... ...
HEW FR0~ IN =E SOLAR MOM FIGURE 1.2 Though covered with rocks and boulders, the surfed of asteroid 433 Eros uppers to lack small craters. Thou ~t are On are mu - , subduing ~t the surfed is covered with ~ blokes of regolith.
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From page 28... ...
Tri~ept=e Flyby The Tritor~Neptune Flyby mission would send ~ Gemlike flyby recormaissmce spacecraft equipped win imaging' imaging spectroscopy' radio science, arid potentially over instruments, to make ~ deviled second reco~aissar~e of ~e Neptune system. Using ~ Jupi~r-gravity assist such ~ mission could ~ launched in 2007' reaching Neptune in 201 S
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From page 29... ...
Earth-~ed Teles In He decade under eonsider~ion, ground-based telescopes will continue to play key roles in He detection md physical study of primitive solar system bodies. Asteroids near Earn md in He main belt are found md studied with ground-based telescopes, as are Kuiper Belt objects, Centaurs' divot domed' md mod plmet~ Bellies.
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From page 30... ...
Numerous examples could be given of the critical value of mission support afforded by observations win telescopes of various kinds; ~ few are mentioned here to help underscore He breadth of He concept of ``mission support',: ~ The Galileo probe entered Jupi~rts atmosphere in ~ anomalously eloud-free region whose strong infrared emissions were detected by NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (I1lTF) on hound Kea.
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From page 31... ...
The pme} recommends that both of these impor~t facilities be supported md upgraded as needed, for the unique information that radar observations of small solar system bodies provide. Me klAS;A Infrared Telescope Foamy.
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From page 32... ...
Such work is inadequately supported either in existing laboratory facilities or through the erection of new laboratories. The Primitive Bodies Panel recommends that as long as sample-return missions are in the mission plm' there is ~ continuing need for upgrades to He equipment used for analyzing Be samples ~ levels currently in NASA's Sample lectern Laboratory Instruments md D~a Analysis program.
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From page 33... ...
The key questions for each theme are listed in He order of importance in the sense of representing He sups needed to address He themes. Table I.1 represent He Primitive Bodies Purely best judgment of He extent to which each
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From page 35... ...
llECOhlME - ATIONS OF THE PRIMITIVE BODIES PANEL TO THE STEERING GllOl}P In establishing ~ rar~ked list of missions for the continued exploration of primitive bodies' the parted took into account various factors relend to missions ~~ are technically fusible in ~e decade 2003-2013. The following factors were included: The paucity of radioisotope power systems currently available' The fwt ~~ no major new Ethnology developments were required, arid ~ The need for focused scientific objectives.
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From page 36... ...
S~m' ~lCollisior~ Rams in the Pre~rJ-~ Kuiper Be it arid centaur Regior~: Applications to Surfam A~iv~ior~ Ad h~odific~ior~ ore Comets' Kuiper Belt Objects' Cerdaurs' md Pluto-Charor~' Barn 145: 220-~' 2000.
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