NASA Selects Jupiter Mission Candidate For Further Study

LAUNCH PAD

The Juno team proposes using a highly instrumented spacecraft placed in a polar orbit around Jupiter to investigate the existence of an ice-rock core, determine the global water and ammonia abundances in Jupiter's atmosphere, study convection and deep wind profiles in the atmosphere, investigate the origin of the jovian magnetic field and explore the polar magnetosphere.

San Antonio TX (SPX) Aug 05, 2004
Two science instruments to be developed by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) are part of a proposal selected by NASA as a candidate for the next mission in the agency's New Frontiers Program.

The two mission proposals selected by NASA for further study are to orbit Jupiter from pole to pole for the first time to conduct an in-depth study of the giant planet and to drop robotic landers into a crater at the south pole of the Moon and return samples to Earth.

The SwRI instruments, JADE (Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment) and Alice, are part of the proposed "Juno" mission to orbit Jupiter.

"The Juno mission will provide the critical information needed to understand how the solar system's largest planet, Jupiter, formed several billion years ago and how it interacts with the solar wind even today," says Dr. David J. McComas, senior executive director of the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division.

JADE is designed to measure the auroral electron and ion populations along the planet's magnetic field lines and determine what particle populations create the jovian aurora.

"The JADE experiment allows us to make the first direct measurements of the particles that create Jupiter's stunning auroral displays," says McComas, who serves as JADE principal investigator and has overall responsibility for the SwRI contribution.

The Alice instrument is designed to image ultraviolet emissions from the jovian aurora, which will allow space scientists to relate these auroral observations with JADE observations of the particle populations that create them.

"The Alice instrument on Juno will provide Hubble-like images of Jupiter's powerful and dynamic aurora, but from the much better vantage points of directly above the north and south poles," says Dr. G. Randall Gladstone, an Institute scientist at SwRI who serves as Alice principal investigator.

The Alice instrument is similar to instruments of the same name flying on the European Space Agency's Rosetta comet orbiter and scheduled for flight on NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto.

Dr. Scott Bolton of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory leads the overall investigation.

The other proposal selected by NASA for further study is "Moonrise: Lunar South Pole - Aitken Basin Sample Return Mission," led by Dr. Michael Duke of the Colorado School of Mines.

This team proposes to land two identical landers on the surface near the Moon's south pole and return to Earth approximately five pounds of lunar materials from a region of the Moon's surface believed to harbor materials from its mantle.

Each proposal team now receives up to $1.2 million to conduct a seven-month feasibility study focused on cost, management and technical plans. NASA expects to select one of the mission proposals for full development in May 2005 as the second New Frontiers mission, for a June 2009 launch.

The first mission selected by NASA in the New Frontiers Program is New Horizons, which will examine the Pluto-Charon system in 2014 and later target a Kuiper belt object.

SwRI manages the New Horizons science investigation for NASA. The spacecraft is currently under construction and is scheduled for a January 2006 launch.

NUCLEAR SPACE

NASA Releases Requirements For Proposed Jupiter Mission

Pasadena (JPL) May 27, 2004
NASA has issued its mission design requirements to three industry teams for a proposed mission to Jupiter and its three icy moons. The requirements are also the first product formulated by NASA's new Office of Exploration Systems in Washington.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.