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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS2018

Oceanus: A High Science Return Uranus Orbiter with a Low-Cost Instrument Suite

Ice-giant-sized planets are the most common type of observed exoplanet, yet the two ice giants in our own solar system (Uranus and Neptune) are the least explored class of planet, having only been observed through ground-based observations and a single flyby each by Voyager 2 approximately 30 years ago. These single flybys were unable to characterize the spatial and temporal variability in ice giant magnetospheres, some of the most odd and intriguing magnetospheres in the solar system. They also offered only limited constraints on the internal structure of ice giants; understanding the internal structure of a planet is important for understanding its formation and evolution. The most recent planetary science Decadal Survey by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, ''Vision and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022,'' identified the ice giant Uranus as the third highest priority for a Flagship mission in the decade 2013-2022. However, in the event that NASA or another space agency is unable to fly a Flagship-class mission to an ice giant in the next decade, this paper presents a mission concept for a focused, lower cost Uranus orbiter called OCEANUS (Origins and Composition of the Exoplanet Analog Uranus System). OCEANUS would increase our understanding of the interior structure of Uranus, its magnetosphere, and how its magnetic field is generated. These goals could be achieved with just a magnetometer and the spacecraft's radio system. This study shows that several of the objectives outlined by the Decadal Survey, including one of the two identified as highest priority, are within reach for a New-Frontiers-class mission.

Elder, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Anaerobic Psychrophiles from Alaska, Antarctica, and Patagonia: Implications to Possible Life on Mars and Europa

Microorganisms preserved within the permafrost, glaciers, and polar ice sheets of planet Earth provide analogs for microbial life forms that may be encountered in ice or permafrost of Mars, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, asteroids, comets or other frozen worlds in the Cosmos. The psychrophilic and psychrotolerant microbes of the terrestrial cryosphere help establish the thermal and temporal limitations of life on Earth and provide clues to where and how we should search for evidence of life elsewhere in the Universe. For this reason, the cold-loving microorganisms are directly relevant to Astrobiology. Cryo-preserved microorganisms can remain viable (in deep anabiosis) in permafrost and ice for millions of years. Permafrost, ice wedges, pingos, glaciers, and polar ice sheets may contain intact ancient DNA, lipids, enzymes, proteins, genes, and even frozen and yet viable ancient microbiota. Some microorganisms carry out metabolic processes in water films and brine, acidic, or alkaline channels in permafrost or ice at temperatures far below 0 T. Complex microbial communities live in snow, ice-bubbles, cryoconite holes on glaciers and ancient microbial ecosystems are cryopreserved within the permafrost, glaciers, and polar caps. In the Astrobiology group of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama at Huntsville, we have employed advanced techniques for the isolation, culture, and phylogenetic analysis of many types of microbial extremophiles. We have also used the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to study the morphology, ultra-microstructure and chemical composition of microorganisms in ancient permafrost and ice. We discuss several interesting and novel anaerobic microorganisms that we have isolated and cultured from the Pleistocene ice of the Fox Tunnel of Alaska, guano of the Magellanic Penguin, deep sea sediments from the vicinity of the Rainbow Hydrothermal Vent and enrichment cultures from ice of the Patriot Hills of Antarctica. The microbial extremophiles recovered from permafrost, ice, cold pools and deep sea sediments may provide information relevant to the question of how and where we should search for evidence of extant or extinct microbial life elsewhere in the Cosmos.

Hoover, Richard B.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Anaerobic Psychrophiles from Alaska, Antarctica, and Patagonia: Implications to Possible Life on Mars and Europa

Microorganisms preserved within the permafrost, glaciers, and polar ice sheets of planet Earth provide analogs for microbial life forms that may be encountered in ice or permafrost of Mars, Europa, Callisto, Ganymede, asteroids, comets or other frozen worlds in the Cosmos. The psychrophilic and psychrotolerant microbes of the terrestrial cryosphere help establish the thermal and temporal limitations of life on Earth and provide clues to where and how we should search for evidence of life elsewhere in the Universe. For this reason, the cold-loving microorganisms are directly relevant to Astrobiology. Cryopreserved microorganisms can remain viable (in deep anabiosis) in permafrost and ice for millions of years. Permafrost, ice wedges, pingos, glaciers, and polar ice sheets may contain intact ancient DNA, lipids, enzymes, proteins, genes, and even frozen and yet viable ancient microbiota. Some microorganisms carry out metabolic processes in water films and brine, acidic, or alkaline channels in permafrost or ice at temperatures far below 0 C. Complex microbial communities live in snow, ice-bubbles, cryoconite holes on glaciers and ancient microbial ecosystems are cryopreserved within the permafrost, glaciers, and polar caps. In the Astrobiology group of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the University of Alabama at Huntsville, we have employed advanced techniques for the isolation, culture, and phylogenetic analysis of many types of microbial extremophiles. We have also used the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope to study the morphology, ultra-microstructure and chemical composition of microorganisms in ancient permafrost and ice. We discuss several interesting and novel anaerobic microorganisms that we have isolated and cultured from the Pleistocene ice of the Fox Tunnel of Alaska, guano of the Magellanic Penguin, deep-sea sediments from the vicinity of the Rainbow Hydrothermal Vent and enrichment cultures from ice of the Patriot Hills of Antarctica. The microbial extremophiles recovered from permafrost, ice, cold pools and deep-sea sediments may provide information relevant to the question of how and where we should search for evidence of extant or extinct microbial life elsewhere in the Cosmos.

Hoover, Richard B.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Constraining the Depth of Polar Ice Deposits and Evolution of Cold Traps on Mercury with Small Craters in Permanently Shadowed Regions

Earth-based radar observations revealed highly reflective deposits at the poles of Mercury [e.g., 1], which collocate with permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) detected from both imagery and altimetry by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft [e.g., 2]. MESSENGER also measured higher hydrogen concentrations at the north polar region, consistent with models for these deposits to be composed primarily of water ice [3]. Enigmatic to the characterization of ice deposits on Mercury is the thickness of these radar-bright features. A current minimum bound of several meters exists from the radar measurements, which show no drop in the radar cross section between 13- and 70-cm wavelength observations [4, 5]. A maximum thickness of 300 m is based on the lack of any statistically significant difference between the height of craters that host radar-bright deposits and those that do not [6]. More recently, this upper limit on the depth of a typical ice deposit has been lowered to approximately 150 m, in a study that found a mean excess thickness of 50 +/- 35 m of radar-bright deposits for 6 craters [7]. Refining such a constraint permits the derivation of a volumetric estimate of the total polar ice on Mercury, thus providing insight into possible sources of water ice on the planet. Here, we take a different approach to constrain the thickness of water-ice deposits. Permanently shadowed surfaces have been resolved in images acquired with the broadband filter on MESSENGER's wide-angle camera (WAC) using low levels of light scattered by crater walls and other topography [8]. These surfaces are not featureless and often host small craters (less than a few km in diameter). Here we utilize the presence of these small simple craters to constrain the thickness of the radar-bright ice deposits on Mercury. Specifically, we compare estimated depths made from depth-to-diameter ratios and depths from individual Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) tracks to constrain the fill of material of small craters that lie within the permanently shadowed, radar bright deposits of 7 north polar craters.

Deutsch, Ariel N.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Forecasting Rates of Volcanic Activity on Terrestrial Exoplanets and Implications for Cryovolcanic Activity on Extrasolar Ocean Worlds

Like the planets and moons in our solar system, the surfaces of terrestrial exoplanets may be shaped by volcanic activity. The magnitudes and rates of volcanic activity on terrestrial exoplanets will be intimately linked to their sizes and internal heating rates and can either facilitate or preclude the existence of habitable environments. In order to place bounds on the potential for such activity, we estimate total internal heating rates for 53 exoplanets with masses and radii up to∼8M⊕and 2R⊕, respectively, assuming that internal heating is drawn from both radiogenic and tidal sources. We then compare these internal heating rates to those of the planets and moons in our solar system in an attempt to constrain the expected rates of volcanic activity on these extrasolar worlds. We find that all 53 of the exoplanets surveyed are likely to have volcanic activity at their surfaces, and that at least 26% of these planets may be extrasolar ocean worlds. The majority of these ocean worlds may be similar in structure to the icy moons of the giant planets, having internal oceans beneath layers of surface ice. If so, these planets may exhibit cryovolcanism (i.e., icy volcanism)at their surfaces. Recent studies have shown that extrasolar volcanism could be detected by high-resolution spectrographs on existing ground-based telescopes. In the case of planets with densities and/or effective temperatures that are consistent with H2O-rich compositions, spectral identification of excess water vapor and other molecules that are explosively vented into space during cryovolcanic eruptions could serve as a way to infer the presence of subsurface oceans, and therefore indirectly assess their habitability. Considering the implications for habitability, our results suggest that continued characterization of terrestrial exoplanets in terms of their potential for volcanic activity should be a priority in the coming years.

Lynnae C Quick↗
NASA NTRS1989

On the rapid formation of giant planet cores

The formation of the ice-rock cores of the giant planets by density wave-assisted accretion is outlined. The process could be rapid (100,000-1,000,000 yr) and completed within the probable lifetime of the solar nebula. The mechanism works for both Jupiter and Saturn and does not require a large excess of mass over that believed present in their cores.

Ward, William R.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Mars Atmospheric Chemistry Simulations with the GEM-Mars General Circulation Model

General Circulation Models with interactive physical and chemistry processes are the state-of-the-art tools for an integrated view and understanding of the Martian atmosphere and climate system. The GEM-Mars model currently includes 16 tracers for chemical composition and applies a fully online, interactive calculation of the photo- and gas phase chemistry of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O). These species largely control the chemical composition of the neutral Mars atmosphere through their photolysis products and their subsequent interactions. Water vapor undergoes a complex cycle on Mars as it is transported and interacts with ice reservoirs both at the planet's surface and at water ice clouds, which in turn provide radiative feedbacks. In the photochemical cycles involving CO2 and H2O, the abundances of 5 species have been reported by previous investigations with significant spatio-temporal coverage: CO2, H2O, CO, O3 and H2O2. This paper presents the current status of the atmospheric chemistry simulations in GEM-Mars by comparing them to a selection of these observational datasets as well as to oxygen dayglow emission from O2(a1∆g). The results are consistent with previous model-data comparisons and illustrate that the water cycle and the photochemistry are well implemented in the model. In particular, the simulation of the key reservoir species H2O2 provides a good match to the available data. Model-data biases for ozone columns and oxygen airglow are related to the simulated water vapor vertical profile, as these species have important column contributions from vertical layers at the top of the hygropause.

F Daerden↗
NASA NTRS1980

Kinetic inhibition of CO and N2 reduction in the solar nebula

It is shown that the conversion of CO to methane and of N2 to ammonia in the primitive solar nebula was probably so slow relative to radial mixing rates or nebula evolutionary rates that only small amounts of NH3 and CH4 could have been present. Thus most of the nitrogen was present as N2 and most of the carbon as CO and CO2 throughout the nebula. The consequences of this kinetic effect upon the composition of cometary ices and of the Jovian planets, the melting and outgassing behavior of ice rich planetary satellites, and the abundance of carbon in the terrestrial planets are briefly discussed.

Lewis, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A possible deuterium anomaly: Implications of the CH3D/CH4 mixing ratios in the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus

Observations of CH3D in the atmospheres of the outer planets provide a test of the theory of deuterium fractionation equilibrium in the formation and evolution of these planets. Recent measurements of the CH3D/CH4 mixing ratios made for Saturn and Uranus are presented and intercompared with current values of Jupiter, illustrating large differences between the planets. Their implied D/H ratios are compared to D/H ratios derived from measurements of HD/H2; and, in the cases of Jupiter and Saturn, they may be incompatible. Implications of these comparisons are discussed in terms of the deuterium fractionation chemistry and possible enrichments of deuterium in the core ices of the planets.

Lutz, Barry L.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Gyro Evaluation for the Mission to Jupiter

As an important component in NASA's New Frontiers Program, the Jupiter Polar Orbiter (Juno) mission is designed to investigate in-depth physical properties of Jupiter. It will include the giant planet's ice-rock core and atmospheric studies as well as exploration of its polar magnetosphere. It will also provide the opportunity to understand the origin of the Jovian magnetic field. Due to severe radiation environment of the Jovian system, this mission inherently presents a significant technical challenge to Attitude Control System (ACS) design since the ACS sensors must survive and function properly to reliably maneuver the spacecraft throughout the mission. Different gyro technologies and their critical performance characteristics are discussed, compared and evaluated to facilitate a choice of appropriate gyro-based inertial measurement unit to operate in a harsh Jovian environment to assure mission success.

physical properties↗
NASA NTRS2003

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Annual Report 2002

The year 2002 brought advances on many fronts in our space exploration ventures. A new orbiter settled in at Mars and delivered tantalizing science results suggesting a vast store of water ice under the planet's surface, a discovery that may have profound consequences for exploring Mars. A long-lived spacecraft made its final fly-bys of Jupiter's moons, while another started its final approach toward Saturn and yet another flew by an asteroid on its way to a comet. A new ocean satellite began science observations, joined in Earth orbit by a pair of spacecraft measuring our home planets gravity field, as well as JPL instruments on NASA and Japanese satellites. A major new infrared observatory and a pair of Mars rovers were readied for launch. All told, JPL is now communicating with 14 spacecraft cast like gems across the velvet expanses of the solar system. It is a far cry from the early 1960's, when JPL engineers made prodigious efforts to get the first planetary explorers off the ground and into space - an achievement of which we were especially mindful this year, as 2002 marked the 40th anniversary of the first successful planetary mission, Mariner 2, which barely reached our closest planetary neighbor, Venus. Added to this anniversary were celebrations surrounding the 25th anniversaries of the launches of Voyagers 1 and 2, two remarkable spacecraft that are still flying and are actively probing the outer realms of the solar system. These events of the past and present provide an occasion for reflection on the remarkable era of exploration that we at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are privileged to be a part of. As 2002 neared its end, the Laboratory had yet another reason for celebration, as a new five-year management contract between NASA and the California Institute of Technology was signed that calls for a closer working relationship with NASA and other NASA centers as a member of the 'One NASA' team. There is a strong emphasis on cost control and management, areas in which we can improve, enabling us to become more competitive. This new agreement again confirms NASA's trust and faith in Caltech and JPL, in which we should all take great pride. If the history of JPL were a book, we are on the verge of turning the page to one that promises to be one of the most exciting and busiest chapters in JPL's history. In 2003 and 2004, we will launch 11 spacecraft or major payloads. We will land two rovers on Mars; put a spacecraft in orbit around Saturn, deliver a probe to the surface of its largest moon, Titan, and map Titan's surface withimaging radar; send a spacecraft past a comet collecting samples from its tail, while another one is launched toward a comet impact; bring a capsule back to Earth with the first samples ever collected beyond the orbit of the Moon; map the skies in the ultraviolet as well as the infrared spectrum to unprecedented accuracy; and continue the mapping of ocean topography and winds on our home planet, Earth.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAS↗
NASA NTRS2013

Characterizing Uranus with an Ice giant Planetary Origins Probe (Ice-POP)

We now know from studies of planetary transits and microlensing that Neptune-mass planets are ubitquitous and may be the most common class of planets in the Galaxy. As such it is crucial that we understand the formation and evolution of the ice giant planets in our own solar system so that we can better understand planet formation throughout the galaxy. An entry probe mission to Uranus would help accomplish this goal. In fact the Planetary Decadal Survey recommended a Uranus orbiter with entry probe but did not explore in detail the specifications for the entry probe. NASA Ames is currently studying thermal protection system requirements for such a mission and this has led to questions regarding the minimum interesting science payload of such an entry probe. The single most important in-situ measurement for an ice giant entry probe is a measurement of atmospheric composition. For Uranus this would specifically include the methane and noble gas abundances. An in situ measurement of the methane abundance, from below the methane cloud, would constrain the atmospheric carbon abundance, which is believed to be roughly 30 to 50 times solar. There are hints from the transiting planets that extrasolar ice giants show comparable or even greater enhancements of heavy elements compared to their primary stars. However the origin of this carbon enhancement is controversial. Is Uranus a "failed core" of a larger gas giant or was the atmosphere enhanced by accretion of icy planetesimals' Constraining atmospheric abundances of C and perhaps S or even N from below 5 bars would provide badly needed data to address such issues. A measurement of the N abundance would provide clues on the origin of the planetesimals that formed Uranus. Low N-abundance indicates planetesimals from 'warmer' regions where N was mainly in form of NH3, whereas a strong enrichment could indicate planetesimals / cometary material from the colder outer regions of the nebula. Furthermore CO and HCN have been detected in Neptune but not in Uranus. A measurement of the abundance of either would constrain the source mechanisms for these molecules (exogenic or internal). A major surprise from the Galileo Entry Probe was that the heavier noble gases Ar, Kr, and Xe are enhanced in Jupiter's atmosphere at a level comparable to what was seen for the chemically active volatiles N, C, and S. It had been generally expected that Ar, Kr, and Xe would be present in solar abundances, as all were expected to accrete with hydrogen during the gravitational capture of nebular gases. Enhanced abundances of Ar, Kr, and Xe is equivalent to saying that these noble gases have been separated from hydrogen. There are several mechanisms that could accomplish this but these hypotheses require further testing. Measurement of noble gas abundances in an ice giant would constrain the planetary formation and nebular mechanisms responsible for this enhancement. Standard three-layer models of Uranus find that the outer, predominantly H/He layer of Uranus does not reach pressures high enough (approximately 1 Mbar) for H2 to transition to liquid metallic hydrogen. However, valid models can also be constructed with a smaller intermediate water-rich layer, with hydrogen then reaching the metallic hydrogen phase. If this occurs, He should phase separate from the hydrogen and ``rain out," taking along a substantial abundance of Ne, as suggested for Jupiter (and likely also for Saturn). Hence He and Ne depletions could be probes of the planet's structure in the much deeper interior. A determination of Uranus' atmospheric abundances, particularly of the noble gasses, is thus critical to understanding the formation of Uranus, and giant planets in general. These measurements can only be performed with an entry probe. The second key measurement would be a temperature-pressure sounding to provide ground truth for remote measurements of atmospheric temperature and composition and to constrain the internal heat flow. This would also establish that the methane abundance measurements have indeed been made below any possible methane cloud. Finally an ultra stable oscillator would measure wind speeds and constrain atmospheric dynamics. In our presentation we will discuss the importance of all of these measurements and argue that an entry probe is a crucial component of any ice giant mission.

Marley, Mark S.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Fast Atmosphere-Ocean Model Runs with Large Changes in CO2

How does climate sensitivity vary with the magnitude of climate forcing? This question was investigated with the use of a modified coupled atmosphere-ocean model, whose stability was improved so that the model would accommodate large radiative forcings yet be fast enough to reach rapid equilibrium. Experiments were performed in which atmospheric CO2 was multiplied by powers of 2, from 1/64 to 256 times the 1950 value. From 8 to 32 times, the 1950 CO2, climate sensitivity for doubling CO2 reaches 8 C due to increases in water vapor absorption and cloud top height and to reductions in low level cloud cover. As CO2 amount increases further, sensitivity drops as cloud cover and planetary albedo stabilize. No water vapor-induced runaway greenhouse caused by increased CO2 was found for the range of CO2 examined. With CO2 at or below 1/8 of the 1950 value, runaway sea ice does occur as the planet cascades to a snowball Earth climate with fully ice covered oceans and global mean surface temperatures near 30 C.

ocean models↗
NASA NTRS1981

Ground ice on Mars - Inventory, distribution, and resulting landforms

A model is presented for the distribution of ground ice on Mars, and model predictions are compared with Viking Orbiter photographs of landforms possibly related to ground ice. Estimates of the amount of water originally outgassed on Mars and the amount of water presently on Mars are presented which show that approximately 90% of the estimated outgassed volume may be stored in the Martian subsurface as ground ice. The extent of the Martian cryosphere, the zone in which the temperature is below the freezing point of water and in which ground ice can exist, is examined, and it is shown that, in the presence of a protective surface layer approximately 10 m thick, ground ice may occur beneath the entire Martian surface. Observed features on the Martian surface considered most likely to reflect the presence of ground ice are discussed, including thermokarst-like pits and debris flows, and possibly polygonally patterned ground, curvilinear features and pingo-like mounds, and the geographic distributions of these features as seen in Viking photographs are examined. It is found that the possibly ice-related features are concentrated in the northern midlatitudes, the equatorial zone near Olympus Mons, and the Southern Hemisphere near the edge of the plains, indicating that subsurface ice may be present over the entire planet. The origin of the ice-related landforms is explained by a combination of volcanic heating and variations in insolation.

Rossbacher, L. A.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Atmospheric Rotational Effects on Mars Based on the NASA Ames General Circulation Model: Angular Momentum Approach

The objective of the investigation is to determine the motion of the rotational axis of Mars as a result of mass variations in the atmosphere and condensation and sublimation of CO2 ice on the polar caps. A planet experiences this type of motion if it has an atmosphere, which is changing its mass distribution with respect to the solid body of the planet and/or it is asymmetrically changing the amount of ice at the polar caps. The physical principle involved is the conservation of angular momentum, one can get a feeling for it by sitting on a well oiled swivel chair holding a rotating wheel on a horizontal direction and then changing the rotation axis of the wheel to a vertical direction. The person holding the wheel and the chair would begin to rotate in opposite direction to the rotation of the wheel. The motions of Mars atmosphere and the ice caps variations are obtained from a mathematical model developed at the NASA Ames Research Center. The model produces outputs for a time span of one Martian year, which is equivalent to 687 Earth days. The results indicate that Mars axis of rotation moves in a spiral with respect to a reference point on the surface of the planet. It can move as far away as 35.3 cm from the initial location as a result of both mass variations in the atmosphere and asymmetric ice variations at the polar caps. Furthermore the pole performs close to two revolutions around the reference point during a Martian year. This motion is a combination of two motions, one produced by the atmospheric mass variations and another due to the variations in the ice caps. The motion due to the atmospheric variations is a spiral performing about two and a half revolutions around the reference point during which the pole can move as far as 40.9 cm. The motion due to variations in the ice caps is a spiral performing almost three revolutions during which the pole can move as far as 32.8 cm.

Sanchez, Braulio V.↗
NASA NTRS1985

High Pressure Cosmochemistry of Major Planetary Interiors: Laboratory Studies of the Water-rich Region of the System Ammonia-water

The behavior of gas-ice mixtures in major planets at very high pressures was studied. Some relevant pressure-temperature-composition (P-T-X) regions of the hydrogen (H2)-helium (He)-water (H2O-ammonia (NH3)-methane (CH4) phase diagram were determined. The studies, and theoretical model, of the relevant phases, are needed to interpret the compositions of ice-gas systems at conditions of planetary interest. The compositions and structures of a multiphase, multicomponent system at very high pressures care characterized, and the goal is to characterize this system over a wide range of low and high temperatures. The NH3-H2O compositions that are relevant to planetary problems yet are easy to prepare were applied. The P-T surface of water was examined and the corresponding surface for NH3 was determined. The T-X diagram of ammonia-water at atmospheric pressure was studied and two water-rich phases were found, NH3-2H2O (ammonia dihydrate), which melts incongruently, and NH3.H2O (ammonia monohydrate), which is nonstoichiometric and melts at a higher temperature than the dihydrate. It is suggested that a P-T surface at approximately the monohydrate composition and the P-X surface at room temperature is determined.

Nicol, M.↗
NASA NTRS2017

It Takes a Village. Collaborative Outer Planet Missions

A mission to one or both of our local Ice Giants (Uranus and Neptune) emerged as a high priority in the most recent Planetary Science Decadal Survey and was also specifically mentioned supportively in the Heliophysics Decadal Survey. In 2016, NASA convened a science definition team to study ice giant mission concepts in more detail. Uranus and Neptune represent the last remaining planetary type in our Solar System to have a dedicated orbiting mission. The case for a Uranus mission has been made eloquently in the Decadal Surveys. Here we summarize some of the major drivers that lead to enthusiastic support for an Ice Giant mission in general, and use the example of a Uranus Mission concept to illustrate opportunities such a mission might provide for cross-division collaboration and cost-sharing.

Uranus↗