P001-08
Enceladus Orbilander: A Flagship Mission Concept for the Planetary Decadal Survey

Monday, 7 December 2020: 04:50
Virtual
Shannon MacKenzie1, Marc Neveu2,3, Jonathan I Lunine4, Alfonso Davila5, Robert E Gold6, Kathleen L Craft7, Morgan L Cable8, Jennifer L Eigenbrode9, Christopher R Glein10, Jason Daniel Hofgartner11, Charity M Phillips-Lander10, Jack H Waite Jr12, Christopher McKay13, Dana Burton14 and and the Orbilander Mission Concept Study Team, (1)Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD, United States, (2)University of Maryland, College Park / NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, College Park, MD, United States, (3)Universities Space Research Association Columbia, Columbia, MD, United States, (4)Cornell University, Department of Astronomy, Ithaca, NY, United States, (5)SETI/NASA Ames, Mountain View, CA, United States, (6)Johns Hopkins Univ, Laurel, MD, United States, (7)Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins, Laurel, MD, United States, (8)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (9)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (10)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States, (11)JPL/NASA/Caltech, Pasadena, CA, United States, (12)Southwest Research Institute, Space Sciences and Engineering, San Antonio, TX, United States, (13)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (14)George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
Whether we are alone remains a fundamental question driving our exploration of the Solar System. Cassini revealed that Saturn’s moon Enceladus represents one of the best targets for searching for life. With a mildly alkaline subsurface ocean in contact with a rocky core, the question is not whether Enceladus might be habitable, but, rather, is it inhabited? In preparation for the 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey, we investigated four Flagship-class architectures and found that Orbilander, a single spacecraft that first orbits then lands, maximizes science return per dollar. Orbilander’s notional 13 instruments are designed to (1) Search for life and (2) Determine the detailed habitability of the ocean by quantifying the geochemistry and understanding the geophysical processes. Within this payload, a Life Detection Suite targets complementary and orthogonal biosignatures: pathway complexity in the bulk organic fraction of plume materials, relative amino acid abundances and enantiomeric excesses, lipid abundance patterns, presence of a polyelectrolyte to serve as genetic material, and presence of cell-like morphologies collocated with fluorescence. These investigations are conducted on multiple reservoirs of plume material: (1) small plume grains and vapor (captured in orbit), (2) fallback snow (captured while on the surface), and (3) surface deposits (excavated from the surface) . A Remote Sensing and Reconnaissance Suite provides contextual constraints from geochemical and geophysical measurements including the redox potential and disequilibria, salinity, pH, and temperature of the ocean, as well as interior processes that control water-rock interactions and vent ejection. These instruments also identify a safe, scientifically compelling landing site. An In-Situ Suite images the surface for sample site selection and probes Enceladus’ interior structure. Orbilander represents the next step after Cassini’s preliminary investigation of plume material by undertaking a robust search for life, determining not only whether Enceladus is inhabited (at levels down to 500,000x scarcer than in Earth’s oceans) but also why.
<< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract