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Pages 545-562

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From page 545...
... TECHNOLOGY 545 raw data sets (e.g., optical imaging) , and eventually achievement of science objectives through goal-seeking and optimization processes.
From page 546...
... 546 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE data volumes generated by modern, high-resolution instruments are not efficiently transmitted from remote environments and analyzed on Earth within reasonable timeframes to address complex scientific analyses (Theiling et al.
From page 547...
... TECHNOLOGY 547 quantify radiation effects on the batteries, further technologies for protecting batteries from radiation are essential to enhance such missions. Finding: Approaches and technologies to protecting spacecraft electronics and power storage systems from radiation have been developed, but further technical advances will enhance future missions targeting icy moons around giant planets.
From page 548...
... 548 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE In the meantime, the following technology advances can continue improve data transfer efficiency: higher radio frequencies and channel coding and modulations can avoid spectrum congestion while using limited power and spectrum; better compression processes can reduce data sizes, leading to efficient communication; and large, deployable mesh reflectors dramatically improve communication rates (Hamkins 2020)
From page 549...
... TECHNOLOGY 549 crucial for the landing of larger payloads on Mars and for enabling atmospheric probes on Venus, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. HEEET (currently at TRL-6 for certain conditions)
From page 550...
... 550 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE to Apollo's LRV tires. Also, onboard actuators consume electric power to warm up and keep their performance.
From page 551...
... TECHNOLOGY 551 There have also been recent advances in trajectory design and optimization that combine gravity assists, lowthrust high-ISP propulsion, aero-assist, and other tools available to the trajectory and mission designer to increase delivery mass and shorten transit times for a variety of mission types (landers, orbiters, flyby)
From page 552...
... 552 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE slow-push methods. Impulsive techniques involve kinetic impactors or deployment of nuclear explosive devices (NEDs)
From page 553...
... TECHNOLOGY 553 Concepts for terminal sterilization -- that is, the complete elimination of all biological contamination at the landing site following the completion of all scientific investigation -- are in the formulation phase as part of the Europa Lander mission concept technology efforts. At bodies where the timescales of surface-subsurface transport exceed the 1,000-year period of biological exploration, missions might not require such extreme measures, providing significant cost savings.
From page 554...
... 554 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE For the outer solar system, solar array performance under low irradiance, low temperature (LILT) conditions continues to improve, with Juno operating successfully at 5AU, and recent advanced array developments that make solar power at Saturn (~10 AU)
From page 555...
... TECHNOLOGY 555 also allows penetration through a range of overburden/soil, sediment, and possibly seasonal ice (though again, this is body-dependent)
From page 556...
... 556 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE As these technologies become available, the aerospace community can take advantage of them to improve the way we build and operate our space missions as they continue to explore the solar system and beyond. The following technology trends have the potential to have game-changing impacts in future SMD missions.
From page 557...
... TECHNOLOGY 557 Small Fission Reactors for Power and Propulsion Fission power systems (FPS) can offer a distinct advantage over other systems for higher power requirements and can offer new possibilities for more capable missions and access to the farthest reaches of the solar system and beyond.
From page 558...
... 558 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE REFERENCES Abell, P.A., C Raymond, T
From page 559...
... TECHNOLOGY 559 Matthies, L.H., P.G. Backes, J.L.
From page 560...
... 22 Recommended Program: 2023–2032 This chapter outlines a prioritized program of research activities to advance the frontiers of planetary science, astrobiology, and planetary defense in the 2023–2032 decade. The recommended program, traced directly from the priority science questions, defines an integrated portfolio of flight projects, high-priority research activities, and technology development that will produce transformative advances in our knowledge and understanding.
From page 561...
... RECOMMENDED PROGRAM: 2023–2032 561 Across these themes, the committee defined 12 priority science questions, shown in Table 22-1, each comprised of a single overarching topic and a brief description of the question's scope. Chapters 3 through 15 describe these priority questions, as well as specific sub-questions and strategic research activities for each that would provide substantial advances in understanding over the next decade.
From page 562...
... 562 ORIGINS, WORLDS, AND LIFE Topics that appear frequently in the science question chapters include: • The central role of sample return and in situ analyses for providing breakthrough science and ground-truth constraints; • The dearth of knowledge of the ice giant3 systems, which may represent the most common class of exoplanets, and the importance of ice versus gas giant comparative studies; • Effects of nebular processes on compositional mixing and the formation of planetary building blocks and primitive bodies, and the need for further constraints on the solar system's dynamical evolution, from primordial planet migration to ongoing bombardment; • The complex interplay of internal and external processes -- many still ongoing -- that affect planets, moons, rings, and small bodies, and the factors responsible for the varied initial states and divergent evolutionary paths of our terrestrial planets; • The conditions that led to the emergence of life on Earth, and the compelling rationale for understanding habitability beyond Earth, particularly at Mars and icy ocean worlds; and • A strong desire in the coming decade to make substantive progress in understanding whether life existed (or exists) elsewhere in the solar system.

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