6 papers
The Science Case for Spacecraft Exploration of the Uranian Satellites
Richard J. Cartwright, Chloe B. Beddingfield, Tom Nordheim +14
The five classical Uranian moons are possible ocean worlds that exhibit bizarre geologic landforms, hinting at recent surface-interior communication. However, Uranus' classical moo…
Human Assisted Science at Venus: Venus Exploration in the New Human Spaceflight Age
Noam R. Izenberg, Ralph L. McNutt, Kirby D. Runyon +2
Some human mission trajectories to Mars include flybys of Venus. These flybys provide opportunities to practice deep space human operations, and offer numerous safe-return-to-Earth…
Initial results from the New Horizons exploration of 2014 MU69, a small Kuiper Belt Object
S. A. Stern, H. A. Weaver, J. R. Spencer +202
The Kuiper Belt is a distant region of the Solar System. On 1 January 2019, the New Horizons spacecraft flew close to (486958) 2014 MU69, a Cold Classical Kuiper Belt Object, a cla…
The Geology and Geophysics of Kuiper Belt Object (486958) Arrokoth
J. R. Spencer, S. A. Stern, J. M. Moore +75
The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Hor…
Plutos Far Side
S. A. Stern, O. L. White, P. J. McGovern +11
The New Horizons spacecraft provided near global observations of Pluto that far exceed the resolution of Earth-based data sets. Most Pluto New Horizons analysis hitherto has focuse…
The Geology of Pluto and Charon Through the Eyes of New Horizons
Jeffrey M. Moore, William B. McKinnon, John R. Spencer +38
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has revealed the complex geology of Pluto and Charon. Pluto's encounter hemisphere shows ongoing surface geological activity centered on a vast basin…