Mission to the Ocean World Ceres
Location
CoLab, OCB 100
Start Date
25-4-2024 1:30 PM
Document Type
Poster
Description
Ceres is a dwarf planet and is the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Dawn orbiter found evidence of a large subsurface saltwater ocean and a tenuous water vapor atmosphere. The goal of this mission is to further examine Ceres, cataloging the chemical composition of its surface, analyzing the thickness of the crust and the extent of the subsurface ocean, and assessing the viability for organic life. The flight path will follow a gravity assist maneuver around Mars in order to perform an energy efficient trajectory to the dwarf planet. After transit, an orbiter will survey landing sites and a rover similar to Perseverance will land on the surface. The rover will include a UV mass spectrometer, an X-ray mass spectrometer, ground-penetrating radar, a gas chromatograph, and imagers in both visible light and radar.
Mission to the Ocean World Ceres
CoLab, OCB 100
Ceres is a dwarf planet and is the largest object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Dawn orbiter found evidence of a large subsurface saltwater ocean and a tenuous water vapor atmosphere. The goal of this mission is to further examine Ceres, cataloging the chemical composition of its surface, analyzing the thickness of the crust and the extent of the subsurface ocean, and assessing the viability for organic life. The flight path will follow a gravity assist maneuver around Mars in order to perform an energy efficient trajectory to the dwarf planet. After transit, an orbiter will survey landing sites and a rover similar to Perseverance will land on the surface. The rover will include a UV mass spectrometer, an X-ray mass spectrometer, ground-penetrating radar, a gas chromatograph, and imagers in both visible light and radar.
Comments
The faculty mentor for this project was Steven Giambrone and Doug Patterson, Astrobiology.