Centaurus (spacecraft mission)

Centaurus

Mission type| Flyby
Operator| NASA
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer| Lockheed Martin (proposed)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date| 2026–2029 (proposed)[1]
Instruments
Imagers, spectrometers[1]

Discovery program

<- Psyche

Centaurus is a mission concept to flyby the centaurs 2060 Chiron and Schwassmann–Wachmann 1.[1] It was submitted in response to the NASA Discovery program call for proposals in 2019 but ultimately was not among the four missions selected for further development by NASA in February 2020.[2] If it had been selected, Centaurus would have been the first mission to attempt a flyby of a centaur.

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 Mission leadership
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Overview

If selected, Centaurus would have been capable of launching in any year between 2026 and 2029. The primary targets of the Centaurus mission were the centaurs 2060 Chiron and 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann (often shortened to "SW1"). Centaurs are "escapees" from the Kuiper belt with giant planet-crossing orbits.[3] Both objects are active centaurs with perihelia within the orbit of Saturn. The Centaurus payload included imagers and spectrometers to study the surfaces, comae, and any potential rings and shepherd moons around these objects.[1] Use of solar panels would have eliminated the need for radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) or other nuclear sources.[1]

Both mission targets show evidence for rings and/or cometary activity. Chiron is the second largest known centaur, by diameter, after 10199 Chariklo. Activity was identified in the past and it may have rings.[4][5] SW1 is the most active centaur known, averaging over 7 periods of activity each year.[6] This equates to an outburst of cometary activity approximately every 50 days. Thus, there was a high likelihood of Centaurus flying by SW1 during a period of activity.

* Depiction of Chiron with rings.

* Comparison of Chiron and SW1 to 486958 Arrokoth and comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Pluto is shown at the bottom of the image.

## Mission leadership

Centaurus is a joint proposal of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboartory (APL) and NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center are also involved.[1] The principal investigator (PI) of the Centaurus mission is Alan Stern of SwRI in Boulder, Colorado. The Deputy PI is Kelsi Singer of SwRI.

## See also

* List of missions to minor planets
* List of Solar System probes

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Centaurus: Exploring Centaurs and More, Messengers from the Era of Planet Formation. Kelsi N. Singer, S. Alan Stern, Daniel Stern, Anne Verbiscer, Cathy Olkin, and the Centaurus Science Team. (EPSC Abstracts Vol. 13, EPSC-DPS2019-2025-1, 2019 EPSC-DPS Joint Meeting 2019). Retrieved 6 October 2019.
2. ↑ "NASA Selects Four Possible Missions to Study the Secrets of the Solar System". NASA. 13 February 2020. https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-four-possible-missions-to-study-the-secrets-of-the-solar-system.
3. ↑ Fernández, J.A.; Helal, M.; Gallardo, Tabaré (2018). "Dynamical evolution and end states of active and inactive Centaurs". Planetary and Space Science 158: 6–15. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2018.05.013. Bibcode: 2018P&SS..158....6F.
4. ↑ Ortiz, J.L.; Duffard, R.; Pinilla-Alonso, N.; Alvarez-Candal, A.; Santos-Sanz, P.; Morales, N.; Fernández-Valenzuela, E.; Licandro, J. et al. (2015). "Possible ring material around centaur (2060) Chiron". Astronomy & Astrophysics 576: A18. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201424461. Bibcode: 2015A&A...576A..18O.
5. ↑ Ruprecht, J.D.; Bosh, A.S.; Person, M.J.; Bianco, F.B.; Fulton, B.J.; Gulbis, A.A.S; Bus, S.J.; Zangari, A.M. (2015). "29 November 2011 stellar occultation by 2060 Chiron: Symmetric jet-like features". Icarus 252: 271–276. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.01.015. Bibcode: 2015Icar..252..271R.
6. ↑ Trigo-Rodríguez; Melendo (2008). "A continuous follow-up of Centaurs, and dormant comets: looking for cometary activity.". European Planetary Science Congress. http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EPSC2008/00291/EPSC2008-A-00291-1.pdf.

## External links

* Poster associated with the Singer et al. (2019) EPSC/DPS abstract

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Spacecraft missions to minor planets and comets

* List of minor planets and comets visited by spacecraft
* List of artificial objects on extra-terrestrial surfaces

Past and
current|

| Flybys|

* Cassini–Huygens
* Chang'e 2
* Clementine†
* CONTOUR†
* Deep Impact
* EPOXI
* Deep Space 1
* Galileo
* Halley Armada
* Giotto
* Sakigake
* Suisei
* Vega 1
* Vega 2
* International Cometary Explorer
* NEAR Shoemaker
* New Horizons
* Pioneer 7
* PROCYON†
* Rosetta
* Stardust/NExT
* Ulysses

|

Orbiters|

* Dawn
* Hayabusa
* Hayabusa2
* NEAR Shoemaker
* OSIRIS-REx
* Rosetta
* Timeline

Landers|

* Hayabusa
* MINERVA†
* Hayabusa2
* HIBOU
* MASCOT
* MINERVA-II 2
* OWL
* NEAR Shoemaker
* Philae

Impactors|

* Deep Impact

Sample return|

* Hayabusa
* Hayabusa2
* OSIRIS-REx
* Stardust

Planned|

* NEA Scout (flyby, 2020-2021)
* Lucy (multiple flybys, 2021)
* DART (impactor and flyby, 2021)
* DESTINY+ (multiple flybys, 2022)
* Psyche (orbiter, 2022)
* Hera (orbiter and landers, 2024)
* Comet Interceptor (flyby, 2028)

Proposed|

* ASTER (orbiter, 2021)
* Athena (flyby of Pallas, 2022)
* Centaurus (multiple flybys, 2026-2029)
* CORSAIR (sample return)
* HAMMER (nuclear impactor concept)
* MANTIS (multiple flybys)
* OKEANOS (multiple flybys and sample return, 2026)
* World Is Not Enough (spacecraft refueling concept)
* ZhengHe (multiple flybys and sample return, 2024)

Cancelled or
not developed|

* AGORA
* AIM
* Asteroid Redirect Mission
* CAESAR
* Castalia
* Clementine 2
* Comet Hopper
* CONDOR
* CRAF
* Don Quijote
* Hayabusa Mk2
* MAOSEP
* Marco Polo
* New Horizons 2
* Vesta

Related|

* Asteroid belt
* Asteroid capture
* Asteroid mining
* Colonization of asteroids
* Ceres
* Colonization
* Pluto
* Exploration
* Small Solar System bodies
* Near-Earth object
* Trans-Neptunian object
* Colonization
* Trojan
* Vesta

* Probes are listed in chronological order of launch. Italics indicate currently active missions. † indicates mission failures.

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NASAPlanetary Missions Program Office|Planetary Missions Program Office]]

Discovery program

| Missions|

| Main|

* NEAR Shoemaker
* Mars Pathfinder
* Lunar Prospector
* Stardust
* Genesis
* CONTOUR†
* MESSENGER
* Deep Impact
* Dawn
* Kepler
* GRAIL
* InSight
* Lucy
* Psyche

|

Opportunity - instruments|

* ASPERA-3 (on Mars Express)
* Moon Mineralogy Mapper (on Chandrayaan-1)
* Strofio (on BepiColombo MPO)
* MEGANE (on Martian Moons Exploration)

Opportunity - retasking|

* EPOXI
* NExT

Proposals|

| Finalists|

* Mission 12
* Comet Hopper
* Titan Mare Explorer
* Mission 13 and 14
* DAVINCI
* NEOCam
* VERITAS

|

Candidates|

* Enceladus Life Finder
* Icebreaker Life
* Io Volcano Observer
* ISOCHRON
* JET
* LIFE
* MANTIS
* Mars Geyser Hopper
* Moon Diver
* PADME
* Phobos Surveyor
* Trident
* Whipple

New Frontiers program

| Missions|

| Main|

* New Horizons
* Juno
* OSIRIS-REx
* Dragonfly

|

Proposals|

| Finalists|

* Mission 2
* MoonRise
* Mission 3
* MoonRise
* SAGE
* Mission 4
* CAESAR

|

Candidates|

* CONDOR
* CORSAIR
* ELF
* ELSAH
* Oceanus (Titan orbiter)
* SPRITE
* VICI
* VISAGE
* VOX

Concepts|

* Camilla
* FIRE
* Io Volcano Observer
* New Horizons 2
* Oceanus (Uranus orbiter)
* Saturn Atmospheric Entry Probe
* THEO
* Venus In Situ Explorer

Solar System Exploration program

| Missions|

| Main|

* DART
* Europa Clipper

|

Opportunity - instruments|

* UVS (on JUICE)

* Green titles indicates active current missions
* Italics indicate missions yet to launch
* Symbol † indicates failure en route or before intended mission data returned

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