In situ Exploration of the Giant Planets

Olivier Mousis (1) , David H. Atkinson , Richard Ambrosi (2) , Sushil Atreya (3) , Don Banfield (4) , Stas Barabash (5) , Michel Blanc (6) , T. Cavalié (7) , Athena Coustenis (8) , Magali Deleuil (9) , Georges Durry (10) , Francesca Ferri (11) , Leigh Fletcher (12) , Thierry Fouchet (8) , Tristan Guillot (13) , Paul Hartogh (14) , Ricardo Hueso (15) , Mark Hofstadter , Jean-Pierre Lebreton (16) , Kathleen E. Mandt , Heike Rauer (17) , Pascal Rannou (10) , Jean-Baptiste Renard (18) , Agustín Sanchez-Lavega (15) , Kunio Sayanagi , Amy Simon , Thomas Spilker , Ethiraj Venkatapathy , J. Hunter Waite (19) , Peter Wurz (20)

1 LAOB - Laboratoire d'astrophysique de l'observatoire de Besançon (UMR 6091)
2 RSPP - Radio and Space Plasma Physics Group [Leicester]
3 AOSS - Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Space Sciences [Ann Arbor]
4 Cornell University [New York]
5 IRF - Swedish Institute of Space Physics [Uppsala / Kiruna]
6 PSA - PSA Peugeot - Citroën
7 ASP 2019
8 LESIA - Laboratoire d'études spatiales et d'instrumentation en astrophysique
9 LAM - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille
10 GSMA - Groupe de spectrométrie moléculaire et atmosphérique
11 CISAS - Centro di Ateneo di Studi e Attività Spaziali “Giuseppe Colombo”
12 University of Leicester
13 LAGRANGE - Joseph Louis LAGRANGE
14 MPS - Max-Planck-Institut für Sonnensystemforschung = Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
15 Departamento de Fisica Aplicada [Bilbao]
16 GRIDAUH - Groupe de Recherche sur les Institutions, le Droit de l'Aménagement, de l'Urbanisme et de l'Habitat
17 DLR Institut für Planetenforschung
18 LPC2E - Laboratoire de Physique et Chimie de l'Environnement et de l'Espace
19 Space Science Division [San Antonio]
20 Physikalisches Institut [Bern]

Remote sensing observations suffer significant limitations when used to study the bulk atmospheric composition of the giant planets of our solar system. This impacts our knowledge of the formation of these planets and the physics of their atmospheres. A remarkable example of the superiority of in situ probe measurements was illustrated by the exploration of Jupiter, where key measurements such as the determination of the noble gases' abundances and the precise measurement of the helium mixing ratio were only made available through in situ measurements by the Galileo probe. Here we describe the main scientific goals to be addressed by the future in situ exploration of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, placing the Galileo probe exploration of Jupiter in a broader context. An atmospheric entry probe targeting the 10-bar level would yield insight into two broad themes: i) the formation history of the giant planets and that of the Solar System, and ii) the processes at play in planetary atmospheres. The probe would descend under parachute to measure composition, structure, and dynamics, with data returned to Earth using a Carrier Relay Spacecraft as a relay station. An atmospheric probe could represent a significant ESA contribution to a future NASA New Frontiers or flagship mission to be launched toward Saturn, Uranus, and/or Neptune.

Mots clés: Entry probes · Giant planets · Formation · Composition · Atmospheres

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Planète et Univers [physics]

Olivier Mousis, David H. Atkinson, Richard Ambrosi, Sushil Atreya, Don Banfield, et al.. In situ Exploration of the Giant Planets. Experimental Astronomy, 2021, 39 p. ⟨10.1007/s10686-021-09775-z⟩. ⟨hal-02282409v2⟩