The Comet Interceptor Mission

Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar object originating at another star. The objectives of the mission are to address the following questions: What are the surface composition, shape, morphology, and structure of the target object? What is the composition of the gas and dust in the coma, its connection to the nucleus, and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind? The mission was proposed to the European Space Agency in 2018, and formally adopted by the agency in June 2022, for launch in 2029 together with the Ariel mission. Comet Interceptor will take advantage of the opportunity presented by ESA's F-Class call for fast, flexible, low-cost missions to which it was proposed. The call required a launch to a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. The mission can take advantage of this placement to wait for the discovery of a suitable comet reachable with its minimum ΔV capability of 600 ms-1. Comet Interceptor will be unique in encountering and studying, at a nominal closest approach distance of 1000 km, a comet that represents a near-pristine sample of material from the formation of the Solar System. It will also add a capability that no previous cometary mission has had, which is to deploy two sub-probes - B1, provided by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and B2 - that will follow different trajectories through the coma. While the main probe passes at a nominal 1000 km distance, probes B1 and B2 will follow different chords through the coma at distances of 850 km and 400 km, respectively. The result will be unique, simultaneous, spatially resolved information of the 3-dimensional properties of the target comet and its interaction with the space environment. We present the mission's science background leading to these objectives, as well as an overview of the scientific instruments, mission design, and schedule

The Comet Interceptor Mission

Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar object originating at another star. The objectives of the mission are to address the following questions: What are the surface composition, shape, morphology, and structure of the target object? What is the composition of the gas and dust in the coma, its connection to the nucleus, and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind? The mission was proposed to the European Space Agency in 2018, and formally adopted by the agency in June 2022, for launch in 2029 together with the Ariel mission. Comet Interceptor will take advantage of the opportunity presented by ESA’s F-Class call for fast, flexible, low-cost missions to which it was proposed. The call required a launch to a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. The mission can take advantage of this placement to wait for the discovery of a suitable comet reachable with its minimum ΔV capability of 600 ms−1. Comet Interceptor will be unique in encountering and studying, at a nominal closest approach distance of 1000 km, a comet that represents a near-pristine sample of material from the formation of the Solar System. It will also add a capability that no previous cometary mission has had, which is to deploy two sub-probes – B1, provided by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and B2 – that will follow different trajectories through the coma. While the main probe passes at a nominal 1000 km distance, probes B1 and B2 will follow different chords through the coma at distances of 850 km and 400 km, respectively. The result will be unique, simultaneous, spatially resolved information of the 3-dimensional properties of the target comet and its interaction with the space environment. We present the mission’s science background leading to these objectives, as well as an overview of the scientific instruments, mission design, and schedule

Broad-band electric field measurements above thunderstorms by the IME-HF instrument prepared for the TARANIS mission

International audienceA broad-band analyzer of the IME-HF instrument ("Instrument de Mesure du champ Electrique Haute Frequence") is prepared for the TARANIS (Tool for Analysis of RAdiation from lightNIng and Sprites) micro-satellite of the French space agency CNES. The spacecraft is based on the MYRIADE series platform. It will be launched on a Sun synchronous polar orbit at 700 km altitude. TARANIS will carry a complex payload of six scientific instruments to study radiation from lightning and optical phenomena (Transient Luminous Events) observed at altitudes between 20 and 100 km (blue jets, red sprites, halos, elves). The scientific instruments onboard TARANIS will detect electromagnetic radiation from very low frequencies up to 37 MHz, optical radiation, X rays (with an aim to study the Terrestrial "Gamma-ray" Flashes), and energetic electrons.The IME-HF instrument will record waveform measurements of fluctuating electric fields in the frequency range from a few kHz up to 37 MHz, with the following scientific aims: (i) Identification of possible wave signatures associated with transient luminous phenomena during storms; (ii) Characterization of lightning flashes from their HF electromagnetic signatures; (iii) Identification of possible HF electromagnetic or/and electrostatic signatures of precipitated and accelerated particles; (iv) Determination of characteristic frequencies of the medium using natural waves properties; (v) Global mapping of the natural and artificial waves in the HF frequency range, with an emphasis on the transient events. The instrument will be also able to trigger and record interesting intervals of data using a flexible event detection algorithm

Counting and Phase Function Measurements with the LONSCAPE Instrument to Determine Physical Properties of Aerosols in Ice Giant Planet Atmospheres

International audienceMeasurements of light scattered by particles give insight into their physical properties (solid or liquid, size, shape, complex refractive index). We propose a novel instrument that provides in situ optical light-scattering measurements of aerosols in giant planet atmospheres, particularly in the ice giants Uranus and Neptune. Known as LONSCAPE (Light Optical Nephelometer Sizer and Counter for Aerosols for Planetary Environments), the instrument combines the particle counting technique of the LOAC balloon-borne aerosol counter with the well-known nephelometer technique to retrieve both the concentrations and phase functions of aerosols over 20 size classes in the 0.2-50 mm diameter size range. Such measurements allow us to distinguish between liquid, ice and solid (potentially carbonaceous) particles for all size classes, and thus to constrain the aerosols composition and their formation process. Given its low mass, size, and power requirements, LONSCAPE could become one of the key instruments selected to be part of the science payload of an atmospheric entry probe sent to the ice giants in the 2030s