Related papers: Potential Backup Targets for Comet Interceptor
Discovered in October 2017, the interstellar object designated 1I/'Oumuamua was the first such object to be observed travelling through our solar system. 1I/'Oumuamua has other characteristics never seen before in a celestial body and…
The {\em Solar Orbiter} is the next solar physics mission of the European Space Agency, ESA, in collaboration with NASA, with a launch planned in 2018. The spacecraft is designed to approach the Sun to within 0.28\,AU at perihelion of a…
The forthcoming Electron--Ion Collider (EIC), which is expected to commence operations in the early 2030s, has already reached several significant milestones on its path toward completion. The core of the EIC physics program is the 3D…
Cometary impacts pose a long-term hazard to life on Earth. Impact mitigation techniques have been studied extensively, but they tend to focus on asteroid diversion. Typical asteroid interdiction schemes involve spacecraft physically…
The DART spacecraft is planned to impact the secondary of the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos in 2022, to assess deflection strategies for planetary defense. The impact will create a crater and release asteroidal material, some of which…
In this white paper, we present a cross-section of important scientific questions that remain partially or completely unanswered, ranging from Titan exosphere to the deep interior, and we detail which instrumentation and mission scenarios…
The space mission LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna), scheduled for launch in 2035, aims to detect gravitational wave (GW) signals in the milli-Hz band. In the context of ESA Voyage 2050 Call for new mission concepts, other frequency…
Ariel has been selected as ESA's M4 mission for launch in 2028 and is designed for the characterisation of a large and diverse population of exoplanetary atmospheres to provide insights into planetary formation and evolution within our…
We report the result of the first search for multipoint in situ and imaging observations of interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) starting with the first Solar Orbiter (SolO) data in 2020 April - 2021 April. A data exploration…
The Star Watch extreme-precision astrometry mission (0.1 - 1.0 uas) builds on technology developed, and validated, during the SIM (Space Interferometry Mission) project. The sole science instrument is an optical interferometer with 50-cm…
LISA, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, due to launch mid-2035, is a large class space mission by the European Space Agency (ESA). In partnership with NASA and ESA-member states, ESA is on track to launch what is expected to be the…
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and corotating interaction regions (CIRs) as well as their source regions are important because of their space weather consequences. The current understanding of CMEs primarily comes from the Solar and…
LOFT, the Large Observatory For X-ray Timing, is one of five ESA M3 candidate missions. It will address the Cosmic Vision theme: "Matter under Extreme Conditions". By coupling for the first time a huge collecting area for the detection of…
The Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission is a NASA observatory designed to discover and characterize near-Earth asteroids and comets. The mission's primary objective is to find the majority of objects large enough to cause severe…
The JAXA/ISAS spacecraft DESTINY$^+$ will be launched to the active asteroid (3200) Phaethon in 2022. Among the proposed core payload is the DESTINY+ Dust Analyzer (DDA) which is an upgrade of the Cosmic Dust Analyzer flown on the Cassini…
We present a study of the current state of knowledge concerning spacecraft operations and potential hazards while operating near a comet nucleus. Starting from simple calculations comparing the cometary coma environment to benign conditions…
The Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (Ariel) is the first space mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of thousands of transiting exoplanets. Ariel was adopted in 2020 as the…
Comet C/2025 N1 or 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object. It has passed perihelion on 2025 October 29, and is currently on a path to leave the solar system. During its outbound journey, it will pass close to Jupiter at a…
(99942) Apophis is a potentially hazardous asteroid that will closely approach the Earth on April 13, 2029. Although the likelihood of an impact has been ruled out, this close encounter represents a unique opportunity for planetary science…
At the far reaches of the outer Solar System, the ice giants remain the last class of planets yet to be studied using orbiters. The 2023-2032 Planetary Science Decadal Survey has underscored the importance of the ice giants in understanding…