Calathus Mission
Calathus is a proposed student-designed Ceres sample-return mission, that would consist of an orbiter and a lander with an ascent module. The orbiter would be equipped with a camera, a thermal imager, and a radar; the lander will have a sampling arm, a camera, and a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. Mission objective is to return maximum 40 grams (1.4 oz) of Ceresian soil.[1] The mission was designed and proposed in 2018 with support of ESA.[2]
Spacecraft should take samples from Occator Crater,[2] that was studied and photographed by NASA"s Dawn. The objectives are:[2]
- to understand whether Ceres contains the ingredients for life
- to understand where Ceres was formed
- to understand whether asteroids like Ceres were responsible for delivering water and organics to Earth
Further reading
[edit]- "The Calathus Mission" (PDF). Alpbach Summer School.
- "SAMPLE RETURN FROM A RELIC OCEAN WORLD: THE CALATHUS MISSION TO OCCATOR CRATER, CERES" (PDF). 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2020). 2021.
References
[edit]- ^ Gassot, Oriane (April 2021). "Calathus: A sample-return mission to Ceres" (PDF). Acta Astronautica. 181: 112–129. Bibcode:2021AcAau.181..112G. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.12.050. hdl:10141/622884. S2CID 234121413.112-129&rft.date=2021-04&rft_id=info:hdl/10141/622884&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:234121413#id-name=S2CID&rft_id=info:doi/10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.12.050&rft_id=info:bibcode/2021AcAau.181..112G&rft.aulast=Gassot&rft.aufirst=Oriane&rft_id=https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-03559381/file/S0094576520307931.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Calathus+Mission" class="Z3988">
- ^ a b c "The Calathus Mission Concept to Occator Crater at Ceres: Science, Operations and Systems Design" (PDF). ESA.
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