Exploration of the outer solar system with fast and small sailcraft
arXiv:2005.12336
Abstract
Two new interplanetary technologies have advanced in the past decade to the point where they may enable exciting, affordable missions that reach further and faster deep into the outer regions of our solar system: (i) small and capable interplanetary spacecraft and (ii) light-driven sails. Combination of these two technologies could drastically reduce travel times within the solar system. We discuss a new paradigm that involves small and fast moving sailcraft that could enable exploration of distant regions of the solar system much sooner and faster than previously considered. We present some of the exciting science objectives for these miniaturized intelligent space systems that could lead to transformational advancements in the space sciences in the coming decade.
arXiv commentA White Paper to the National Academy of Sciences Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. 13 pages, 5 figures and 2 tables
References in corpus (11)
- Experimental Tests of General Relativity
- The Breakthrough Starshot System Model
- Diffraction of electromagnetic waves in the gravitational field of the Sun
- Image formation for extended sources with the solar gravitational lens
- Identifying Interstellar Objects Trapped in the Solar System through Their Orbital Parameters
- Where the Solar system meets the solar neighbourhood: patterns in the distribution of radiants of observed hyperbolic minor bodies
- Diffuse Extragalactic Background Radiation
- Electric sails are potentially more effective than light sails near most stars
- Can Planet Nine Be Detected Gravitationally by a Sub-Relativistic Spacecraft?
- Searching for a Black Hole in the Outer Solar System
- The Brute-Force Search for Planet Nine