NEW HORIZONS PRE-FLYBY MATERIALS

Transcription

1 NEW HORIZONS PRE-FLYBY MATERIALS

2 NEW HORIZONS ON PLUTO S DOORSTEP

3 NEW HORIZONS: THE SPACECRAFT O BJECTIVE: FIRST EXPLORATION OF THE PLUTO SYSTEM AND SMALL KBOS BEYOND L AUNCHED: JANUARY , ATLAS V ROCKET P OWER SUPPLY: RTG WITH 11KG PU -238, 202 WATTS AT PLUTO C OMMUNICATIONS: 2.1 METER HIGH- GAIN ANTENNA, X-BAND UPLINK/ DOWNLINK, 3000 BPS MAX AT PLUTO. S CIENCE INSTRUMENTS: LORRI - HIGH RESOLUTION CAMERA MVIC - COLOR AND PANCHROMATIC CAMERA LEISA - NIR SPECTRAL MAPPER A LICE - UV SPECTRAL MAPPER SWAP AND PEPSSI - PLASMA ENVIRONMENT INSTRUMENTS REX - RADIO SCIENCE EXPERIMENT VENETIA BURNEY STUDENT DUST COUNTER

4 NEW HORIZONS: T H E P R I M E TA R G E T THE PLUTO/CHARON SYSTEM: -- T H E O N LY K N O W N B I N A R Y D W A R F P L A N E T - ORBITED BY AT LEAST FOUR SMALL MOONS PLUTO: SYSTEM PRIMARY D=2360KM, DISCOVERED 1930 NIX - T I D A L LY L O C K E D T O C H A R O N - DYNAMIC ATMOSPHERE STYX - H I G H C O N T R A S T S U R FA C E HYDRA CHARON: SYSTEM SECONDARY D=1207KM, DISCOVERED T I D A L LY L O C K E D T O P L U T O DAY ORBIT SMALL OUTER MOONS STYX (10-25KM, 20.2 DAY ORBIT) NIX (46-136KM, 24.9 DAY ORBIT) KERBEROS (13-34KM, 32.1 DAY ORBIT) HYDRA (60-168KM, 38.2 DAY ORBIT) P 5 KERBEROS PLUTO CHARON IMAGE: NASA / STSCI

5 NEW HORIZONS: SCIENCE AT PLUTO G EOLOGY I S PLUTO AN ACTIVE OR DEAD WORLD? WHAT PROCESSES SHAPE THE SURFACE OF AN ICY DWARF PLANET? A TMOSPHERE D OES IT FREEZE OUT WHEN PLUTO IS FAR FROM THE SUN? HOW FAST IS IT ESCAPING FROM PLUTO? DO CLOUDS OR HAZES FORM? M OONS A RE THERE MORE OF THEM? WHAT ARE THEY MADE OF? WHAT ARE THEIR SHAPES AND SPINS? DOES CHARON HAVE AN ATMOSPHERE? I NTERACTIONS C RATERS: HOW MANY VERY SMALL KUIPER BELT OBJECTS ARE THERE?

6 NEW HORIZONS: MISSION OBJECTIVES PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: CHARACTERIZE GLOBAL GEOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF PLUTO AND CHARON MAP SURFACE COMPOSITION OF PLUTO AND CHARON C HARACTERIZE THE NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE OF PLUTO AND ITS ESCAPE RATE EARTH S SURFACE (NEW YORK CITY) AT NEW HORIZONS HIGHEST RESOLUTION (70 METERS / PIXEL) VIZ: DR. AMANDA ZANGARI

7 NEW HORIZONS: MISSION OBJECTIVES PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: CHARACTERIZE GLOBAL GEOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF PLUTO AND CHARON MAP SURFACE COMPOSITION OF PLUTO AND CHARON C HARACTERIZE THE NEUTRAL ATMOSPHERE OF PLUTO AND ITS ESCAPE RATE SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: C HARACTERIZE TIME VARIABILITY OF PLUTO S SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE I MAGE PLUTO AND CHARON IN STEREO M AP TERMINATORS OF PLUTO & CHARON AT HIGH RES M AP COMPOSITION OF SELECTED AREAS OF PLUTO AND CHARON AT HIGH RES C HARACTERIZE PLUTO S IONOSPHERE AND SOLAR WIND INTERACTION S EARCH FOR NEUTRAL SPECIES, HYDROCARBONS, AND NITRILES IN PLUTO S UPPER ATMOSPHERE TERTIARY OBJECTIVES: C HARACTERIZE ENERGETIC PARTICLE ENVIRONMENT OF PLUTO AND CHARON R EFINE BULK PARAMETERS (RADII, MASSES, DENSITIES) AND ORBITS OF PLUTO AND CHARON S EARCH FOR MAGNETIC FIELDS OF P LUTO AND CHARON S EARCH FOR ADDITIONAL MOONS AND RINGS S EARCH FOR ATMOSPHERE AROUND CHARON D ETERMINE BOND ALBEDOS FOR PLUTO AND CHARON M AP SURFACE TEMPERATURES OF PLUTO AND CHARON

8 NEW HORIZONS: PLUTO S SURFACE C URRENT KNOWLEDGE E XTREME RANGE OF REFLECTIVITY R ICH IN VOLATILE ICES OF N2, CH4, CO R EDDENED BY IRRADIATED HYDROCARBONS P OSSIBILITIES D UNES T ECTONICS C RYOVOLCANISM E VIDENCE OF INTERNAL OCEAN IMAGE: MARC BUIE

9 NEW HORIZONS: P L U T O S AT M O S P H E R E CURRENT KNOWLEDGE DYNAMIC ATMOSPHERE, CHANGES WITH TIME NITROGEN, METHANE, AND CARBON MONOXIDE A B O U T 1 / T H T H E S U R FA C E P R E S S U R E O F M A R S POSSIBILITIES CLOUDS AND HAZE LAYERS EVIDENCE OF GLOBAL WINDS (DUNES) EVIDENCE FOR SEASONAL ATMOSPHERIC FREEZE OUT IMAGE: ESA

10 NEW HORIZONS: T H E K U I P E R B E LT A RING OF ICY OBJECTS BEYOND THE ORBIT OF LARGEST KNOWN MEMBERS: PLUTO AND NEPTUNE ERIS BEST-PRESERVED REMNANT OF THE PRIMORDIAL DISK T H AT P L A N E T S G R E W F R O M M O S T K U I P E R B E LT O B J E C T S ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN PLUTO TENS OF BILLIONS THOUSANDS ARE LARGER THAN 100 KM ACROSS ARE LARGER THAN 1 KM ACROSS

11 NEW HORIZONS: MISSION HISTORY F IRST CONCEPT: 1989 M ANY ITERATIONS OF A PLUTO RECON MISSION, UNTIL N EW HORIZONS CONCEPT SELECTED: NOV 29, 2001 F IRST MISSION IN NEW FRONTIERS" CLASS L AUNCH: JAN 19, 2006 A TLAS V ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA J UPITER FLYBY: FEB 28, 2007 G RAVITY ASSIST AND INSTRUMENT SHAKEDOWN C ROSSED NEPTUNE S ORBIT: AUG 25, YEARS TO THE DAY AFTER VOYAGER 2 VISITED N EPTUNE P LUTO FLYBY SPANS JAN-JULY 2015 C LOSEST APPROACH JULY 14, 2015 D ATA DOWNLINKED THROUGH LATE 2016

12 NEW HORIZONS: PLUTO ENCOUNTER TIMELINE Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecJan Feb Mar Apr MayJun Jul AugSep Oct Pluto Closest Approach PRIMARY OPERATIONS HAZARD SEARCH MANEUVERS

13 NEW HORIZONS: MORE INFORMATION MISSION WEBSITE: PLUTO. JHUAPL. EDU MISSION TWITTER PI TWITTER COUNTDOWN TO PLUTO: SEEPLUTONOW. COM PPOD PLUTO PICTURE OF THE DAY: BOULDER. SWRI. EDU/ PPOD

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16 NEW HORIZONS POST-FLYBY UPDATES

17 NEW HORIZONS: MAP OF PLUTO

18 NEW HORIZONS: MAP OF PLUTO

19 NEW HORIZONS: THE SIZE OF PLUTO LARGEST OBJECT KNOWN BEYOND THE ORBIT OF NEPTUNE PLUTO EXCEEDS DIAMETER ERIS BY ~50 KM. OF 9TH LARGEST OBJECT KNOWN IN SOLAR ORBIT RADIUS: 1187 KM (±4 KM) NO OBLATENESS YET DETECTED UPPER LIMIT OF FLATTENING <1% POLAR

20 NEW HORIZONS: M O U N TA I N S O N P L U T O S T E E P - S I D E D M O U N TA I N S L O C A L LY R I S E 2-3 K M. I M P LY S T I F F B E D R O C K L I K E LY C O M P O S E D O F W A T E R I C E.

21 NEW HORIZONS: GLACIAL FLOW ON PLUTO

22 NEW HORIZONS: COMPLEX TERRAINS ON PLUTO BOTH SMOOTH AND SHARP BOUNDARIES BETWEEN DISTINCT COLOR, ALBEDO, AND MORPHOLOGICAL UNITS

23 NEW HORIZONS: S U R FA C E A G E S A C R O S S P L U T O D A R K T E R R A I N H E A V I LY C R A T E R E D, O L D S U R FA C E SMOOTH, BRIGHT TERRAIN SHOWS VERY FEW CRATERS MODEL AGES LESS THAN SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION YEARS 50 KM

24 NEW HORIZONS: PLUTO S ATMOSPHERIC HAZE HAZES ARE DETECTED UP TO AND BEYOND 150 KM FROM PLUTO S SURFACE LONGITUDINAL STRUCTURES IN HAZE MAY REPRESENT LAYERS OR WAVES

25 NEW HORIZONS: MAP OF CHARON

26 NEW HORIZONS: MAP OF CHARON

27 NEW HORIZONS: CHARON S POLAR SPOT NATURAL COLOR (RALPH + LORRI) ENHANCED COLOR (RALPH) DARK POLAR SPOT IS REDDER THAN CHARON AVERAGE RED TERRAIN EXTENDS BEYOND DARK CORE OF SPOT DARK CORE MAY BE CORRELATED WITH GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES

28 NEW HORIZONS: NIX AND HYDRA N IX (ENHANCED COLOR) H YDRA (GRAYSCALE) 36 X 24 KM A PPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS 44 X 33 KM 0.51 A PPROXIMATE GEOMETRIC ALBEDOS