The Saturn Ring Skimmer Mission Concept: The next step to explore Saturn’s rings, atmosphere, interior and inner magnetosphere

Tiscareno, Matthew S.; Vaquero, Mar; Hedman, Matthew M.; Cao, Hao; Estrada, P. R.; Ingersoll, Andrew P.; Miller, Kelly E.; Parisi, Marzia; Atkinson, D. H.; Brooks, S. M.; Cuzzi, Jeffrey N.; Fuller, James; Hendrix, Amanda; Johnson, R. E.; Koskinen, Tommi; Kŭrth, W. S.; Lunine, Jonathan I.; Nicholson, P. D.; Paty, C. S.; Schindhelm, Rebecca; Showalter, M. R.; Spilker, L. J.; Strange, Nathan; Tseng, W. L.

doi:10.3847/25c2cfeb.82f6e9ff

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Expanded models of ring and planetesimal dynamics may partially support testing this hypothesis, as could continued analysis of Cassini data. New, ultra‐high‐resolution observations of dense rings around gas giants (like those proposed by the Saturn Ring Skimmer mission concept; Tiscareno et al., 2021) may be particularly illustrative of how these small, low‐density worlds form and evolve. What are the rotational and orbital dynamics of small Kuiper Belt binaries and contact binaries? The remarkable alignment of Arrokoth's lobes with one another remains one of the most intriguing results of the New Horizons flyby of Arrokoth (Sections 4.2, 5.5; Stern et al., 2019; McKinnon et al., 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Expanded models of ring and planetesimal dynamics may partially support testing this hypothesis, as could continued analysis of Cassini data. New, ultra-high-resolution observations of dense rings around gas giants (like those proposed by the Saturn Ring Skimmer mission concept; Tiscareno et al, 2021) may be particularly illustrative of how these small, low-density worlds form and evolve. 5.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Geophysical Environment of (486958) Arrokoth—A Small Kuiper Belt Object Explored by New Horizons

et al. 2022

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NASA's New Horizons mission performed the first flyby of a small Kuiper Belt Object (KBO), (486958) Arrokoth on 1 January 2019. The fast flyby revealed a fascinating, flattened, contact binary replete with a variety of unexpected geologic terrains. However, the irregular shape and constraints imposed by the fast flyby makes it a challenge to understand these features. Here we use the latest New Horizons shape models of Arrokoth to investigate its geophysical environment, including its surface slopes, gravity field, and moments of inertia—which are critical context for understanding Arrokoth's formation, evolution, and peculiar geology. We find that Arrokoth's surface features have a complicated relationship to its geophysical environment. For example, bright material tends to be concentrated in geopotential lows (like the neck), consistent with mass wasting—however, this trend is not consistently observed across Arrokoth. Mass wasting may naturally explain some aspects of Arrokoth's geology, but the actual dynamics of material transport may be complicated owing to Arrokoth's unique shape, spin‐rate, and inferred density. While New Horizons's fast and distant flyby precluded directly measuring Arrokoth's mass, we used techniques previously pioneered for comets and asteroids to infer its density. We find that Arrokoth has a low bulk density of ρ = 235 kg/m3 (1σ range: 155–600 kg/m3). This density is low compared to previously explored small bodies, but is comparable to comets, select binary KBOs, and the ring‐moons of Saturn. This low density may be a critical data‐point for understanding the formation of planetesimals at the dawn of the Solar System.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Geophysical Environment of (486958) Arrokoth—A Small Kuiper Belt Object Explored by New Horizons

et al. 2022

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“…The Saturn Ring Skimmer (SRS) mission (Tiscareno et al 2020, Decadal White paper) will fly close enough to Saturn's rings to observe individual ring particles and their interactions for the first time, and will provide new insights into the processes operating in astrophysical disks. This mission will provide new insights into the origin, history and evolution of planetary ring systems.…”

Section: Saturn Ring Skimmermentioning

confidence: 99%

From planetary exploration goals to technology requirements

Lasue

Bousquet²,

Blanc³

et al. 2023

Planetary Exploration Horizon 2061

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“…The generative mechanisms between small inner bodies and some regions of the planetary rings have been extensively studied, as have their resonant relationships (Charnoz et al 2005;Hedman et al 2018). However, many questions relating to the material transport among the different regions of the rings are still largely unanswered (Tiscareno et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Measuring the radial mass density distribution of the rings with the required accuracy would address outstanding questions and open up a whole new class of models for the formation and evolution of Saturn's inner system (Cuzzi & Estrada 1998;Estrada et al 2015Estrada et al , 2018. A mission designed after the novel Skimmer concept (Vaquero et al 2019;Tiscareno et al 2021) would provide an opportunity to carry out close gravity measurements of the rings, allowing for accurate localized characterization of the disk system. The Skimmer's equatorial trajectory is optimized for the observation of Saturn's rings at altitudes lower than 100 km over the disk plane as well as several flybys of Mimas, Enceladus, Rhea, Dione, and Titan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gravity Investigation of Saturn’s Inner System with the Innovative Skimmer Concept

Parisi¹,

Vaquero²,

Hedman³

et al. 2022

Planet. Sci. J.

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We present an in-depth feasibility study of innovative gravity science measurements of Saturn’s inner system, which explores the different regions of the rings, the innermost moons, and the planet itself. The study is enabled by the novel Skimmer concept, where the spacecraft grazes repeatedly the rings over multiple passes. Because of the spacecraft’s proximity to the rings, the experiment allows for the determination of their radial density distribution with unprecedented accuracy. These observations are especially important for the B and F rings, whose masses are not well constrained. During the closest approaches to Saturn, the spacecraft is sensitive to its tidal perturbations measured by the Love number k 22, which holds key information about the interior structure of the planet. The orbit geometry also allows for close flybys of icy moons not explored by the Cassini mission from a gravity perspective. Specifically, we focus on the measurements of Mimas’s tidal perturbations, indicative of the presence of a submerged ocean under the icy surface. We perform precise numerical simulations of the gravity experiment and provide an account of the expected accuracies by means of a covariance analysis. The results are based on two trajectories of the Skimmer class which differ by altitude over the rings, proximity to Saturn, and number of passes. We find that the masses of the outer-ring regions are determined to better than 0.10 Mimas masses, with the case consisting of fewer but closer ring overflights generally yielding better accuracies. The 3σ uncertainty derived for Mimas’s k 2 is 0.02, after six close equatorial flybys.

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The Saturn Ring Skimmer Mission Concept: The next step to explore Saturn’s rings, atmosphere, interior and inner magnetosphere

Cited by 3 publications

References 28 publications

The Geophysical Environment of (486958) Arrokoth—A Small Kuiper Belt Object Explored by New Horizons

The Geophysical Environment of (486958) Arrokoth—A Small Kuiper Belt Object Explored by New Horizons

From planetary exploration goals to technology requirements

Gravity Investigation of Saturn’s Inner System with the Innovative Skimmer Concept

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