Scientific Payload for an Interstellar Probe Mission

Abstract

NASA's Interstellar Probe Mission will be the first spacecraft specifically designed to explore the outer solar system, pass through the boundaries of the heliosphere, and sample the nearby interstellar medium. During the spring of 1999, NASA's Interstellar Probe Science and Technology Definition Team* developed a concept for a mission that will travel to 200- 400 AU using solar-sail propulsion. The principal scientific goals would be to explore the outer solar system, explore the structure of the heliosphere and its interaction with the interstellar medium, and explore the nature of the interstellar medium itself. These studies would be carried out by a -150 kg spacecraft carrying a scientific payload designed to make comprehensive measurements of heliospheric and interstellar plasma, fields, energetic particles, neutral gas, and dust. We discuss the scientific goals and strawman payload for this mission.

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