Transcript locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?

SOFIA - Planetary Science
Science Vision review, July 17, 2008
OUTLINE:
Panel membership & areas of expertise
Panel organization & activities so far
Summary / overview of science topics
Writing status & schedule for remaining work
Planetary Science -- SOFIA Science Vision Panel Members
Jeff Cuzzi (lead), ARC: planetary rings and moons; planet formation
Dana Backman (deputy), SOFIA: planet formation; the Kuiper belt
[answering SOFIA observation feasibility questions for the panel]
(1) Athena Coustenis, Obs. de Paris: Titan; outer s.s. atmospheric chemistry
(2) Dale Cruikshank, ARC & Josh Emery, SETI Institute:
“primitive bodies”: asteroids, Centaurs, Kuiper Belt Objects
(3) Mike Mumma, GSFC: comets; planetary atmospheres
(4) Bob Haberle, ARC & Jeff Hollingsworth, ARC: Terrestrial planet atmospheres
(5) Glenn Orton, JPL:
Jovian planet atmospheres
(6) Mark Marley, ARC & Jonathan Fortney, ARC: extrasolar planets
(7) Joan Najita, NOAO & John Carr, NRL:
protoplanetary disks
Ted Dunham, Lowell Observatory (HIPO P.I.): “red-team” reviewer
Planetary Science Panel -- events so far
May 20: kickoff teleconference, full panel
June 6: presentation to first Science Vision review
DECISION to focus further work in sub-panels
June 27: “primitive bodies” sub-panel brainstorming telecon
July 9: comets sub-panel brainstorming telecon
July 16: panel lead Jeff Cuzzi in hospital for elective surgery;
expects to be out of action for ~ 1 week
SOFIA -- Special Planetary Capabilities
SOFIA can:
* Image the Jovian planets and their moons
- at wavelengths of their peak continuum emission
- at wavelengths of organic molecular lines
* Observe regions closer to the Sun than Earth’s orbit
- Where comets are most active
- Venus and Mercury
* Go anywhere on Earth to reach occultation shadows
of solar system objects
* Monitor targets for significant fractions of outer solar system
orbit periods
Planetary Science -- Overarching Themes
1) How did the solar system form?
(includes cosmological context)
2) How does our solar system compare with other
planetary systems?
3) What are the locations, origins and histories of biogenic
substances in the solar system?
Planetary Science -- Candidate Investigations
Giant planets and their moons
* water abundances, H/He ratio, D/H ratio, isotopic abundances, organics
[how did the solar system form?]
[locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?]
* thermal properties (spatial and temporal variations, tidal heating)
[how did the solar system form?]
[locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?]
Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Planetary Science -- Candidate Investigations, cont’
Protoplanetary disks and debris disks
* chemistry in Terrestrial zones
[how does our solar system compare with other planetary systems?]
* long-term spatially-resolved monitoring of cold debris disk features
(unique capability for inferring Jovian planets in multi-hundred year orbits)
[how does our solar system compare with other planetary systems?]
Extrasolar planets
* transit photometry in and out of methane (and other) molecular bands
* spectroscopic follow-up to Kepler discoveries
[how does our solar system compare with other planetary systems?]
<= Size of
Neptune’s
Orbit
epsilon Eridani debris disk (Kuiper Belt analog)
Planetary Science -- Candidate Investigations, cont’
Primitive Bodies: asteroids, Centaurs, KBOs, comets
* occultations (sizes & densities, atmospheres, companions)
[how did the solar system form?]
* spectroscopy (water, volatiles, organics, minerals, crystallinity, D/H)
[how did the solar system form?]
[locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?]
Planetary Science -- Candidate Investigations, cont’
Mars atmosphere evolution, dynamics, biomarkers?
* water cycle …?
* biogenic methane ? (large-scale spatial variations)
[locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?]
Titan atmosphere composition (incl. versus time)
[locations, origins, and histories of biogenic substances?]
Inner solar system:
* Lunar permafrost (support for LCROSS mission)
[locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?]
* Mercury’s transient sodium & potassium “atmosphere”
(whole-disk complement to close-up measurements by MESSENGER probe)
[how did the solar system form?]
* Venus’s deuterium abundance, evidence for a vanished ocean
[locations, origins and histories of biogenic substances?]
Planetary Science -- Comet sub-panel brainstorming
* (Some) comets now known to be extremely
heterogeneous, incorporating solid matter from all over
the solar nebula -- what were the transport
mechanisms? Was gas transported like particles?
* Important molecules ~ only available to SOFIA:
e.g. H2O, HDO, CO2, CH4, SO2, CS2
* Comet Wildt 2: next perihelion in spring 2010
(particles collected by Stardust are now in Earth labs)
* Comet Hartley 2: next perihelion in fall 2010
(to be visited by Deep Impact “bus”)
* Comet “Chur-Ger”: next perihelion in fall 2015
(to be orbited by Rosetta probe)
Planetary Science -- “Primitive” sub-panel brainstorming
* Asteroid parent bodies of carbonaceous chondrite
meteorites (containing complex organics and water)
are unknown -- diagnostic reflection spectroscopy
bands are in the obscured IR
Planetary Science Panel -- some results, some questions
* Idea for census of small KBOs by observing near-IR
occultations: eliminated as not optimum for SOFIA
* SOFIA does not compete in sensitivity with “warm”
Spitzer at 3.6 & 4.5 microns (may be obvious, but
panel members wanted to be sure)
* We have asked ARC theorist Rich Friedmann to
evaluate detectability of H2O in LCROSS plume by
GREAT spectrometer using latest information
* Comet and asteroid composition investigations
mostly need the EXES mid-IR spectrometer -can development of that instrument be pushed up to
support comet apparitions in 2010?
Planetary Science Panel -- status & remaining work
* Text has been drafted already by Primitive Bodies and
Comet sub-panels after respective teleconferences
* Brainstorming teleconferences with other sub-panels during
remainder of July, into early August
* Sub-panels finish writing draft sections by August 15;
combined and edited by Cuzzi and Backman into 0th draft
* Presentation of 0th draft document August 22 to Ted
Dunham for quick-turn-around “red-team” review
* Complete 1st draft document by August 29
* Presentation of draft to planetary scientists for comment at
SOFIA workshop during DPS conference, October 10-15