@article{75b5ba22c7194c3a95b9549631066e8e,
title = "Concepts for the Future Exploration of Dwarf Planet Ceres' Habitability",
abstract = "Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target for future exploration because it hosts at least regional brine reservoirs and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system, it is a representative of a population of planetesimals that were likely a significant source of volatiles and organics to the inner solar system. Here we describe possible medium-class (around $1 billion) mission concepts that would determine both Ceres' origin and its current habitability potential. Habitability is addressed through a combination of geological, geophysical, and compositional investigations by (i) searching for evidence from orbit of past and ongoing geological activity near landforms interpreted as brine-driven volcanic structures and (ii) probing the brine distribution below one of these regions with electromagnetic sounding (in situ). Two approaches were considered for compositional measurements, which address both habitability and origins: (1) in situ exploration at two sites and (2) sample return from a single site. Both concepts targeted material at Occator crater, which is one of the youngest features on Ceres (∼20 Ma) and a site rich in evaporites evolved from recently erupted brine sourced from a region >35 km deep. We conclude that a sample return architecture from these young evaporite deposits offers greater science return by enabling high-resolution analysis of organic matter (trapped in salt minerals) and isotopes of refractory elements for a similar cost and less science risk than in situ analyses. This manuscript describes the six science objectives and the two implementation concepts considered to achieve those objectives.",
author = "Julie Castillo-Rogez and John Brophy and Kelly Miller and Michael Sori and Jennifer Scully and Lynnae Quick and Robert Grimm and Michael Zolensky and Michael Bland and Debra Buczkowski and Carol Raymond and Amanda Hendrix and Thomas Prettyman and Yasuhito Sekine and Timothy Titus and David Williams and Paul Backes and Laura Barge and Anton Ermakov and Andrew Galassi and Scott Moreland and Kris Zacny",
note = "Funding Information: The research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). {\textcopyright} 2021. All rights reserved. The authors want to thank the following colleagues for their input: Todd White (NASA/ARC); Tom Nordheim, Mohit Melwani Daswani, Mathieu Choukroun, Yang Liu, Yulia Goreva, Brian Clement, James Lambert, Marc Rayman, James Keane, John Mayo, and Christopher Webster (JPL/Caltech); Marc Neveu and Jared Espley (UMD, GSFC); Maria Cristina De Sanctis and Federico Tosi (INAF); Anton Ermakov (UC Berkeley); Christopher Glein, Danielle Wyrick, Ryan Blase, Scot Rafkin, and Mark Libardoni (SwRI); Alien Wang (U. Saint Louis); Karen Meech (U Hawai'i in Manoa); Hajime Yano (ISAS, JAXA); Mikhail Zolotov (ASU); the JPL Formulation Program Office: Kim Reh, James Cutts, Anthony Freeman, Gentry Lee, Howard Eisen, Christophe Sotin, Sabrina Feldman, Gregory Garner, and Rolf Danner; JPL reviewers Samuel Howell, Erin Leonard, and Steve Vance; and external reviewers Erwan Mazarico (GSFC), Vassilissa Vinogradoff (LAM, U. Marseilles), Janet Slate, Colin Dundas, Laszlo Kestay, and Tenielle Gaither (USGS). The authors are also grateful to the following individuals for their contribution to the graphics presented in this manuscript: Allyson Beatrice, Grace Ok, Nicole Sabsook, Corby Waste, Barbara Insua, David Levine, Paul Propster (JPL/Caltech), Raoul Ranoa (raoulranoa. co), Tenielle Gaither (USGS), and Lillian Rose Ostrach. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.",
year = "2022",
month = feb,
day = "1",
doi = "10.3847/PSJ/ac34ee",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "3",
journal = "Planetary Science Journal",
issn = "2632-3338",
publisher = "IOP Publishing Ltd.",
number = "2",
}