The NASA Roadmap to Ocean Worlds
Name
ast.2018.1955.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.91 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
4fd1dda20badc93fd0c99e0ff52eb993
Author(s)
Hendrix, Amanda R.
Hurford, Terry A.
Barge, Laura M.
Bland, Michael T.
Bowman, Jeff S.
Brinckerhoff, William
Buratti, Bonnie J.
Cable, Morgan L.
Castillo-Rogez, Julie
Collins, Geoffrey C.
Date Issued
January 2019
Journal
Astrobiology
Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert Inc
Citation
Hendrix, Amanda R. et al. "The NASA Roadmap to Ocean Worlds." Astrobiology 19, 1 (January 2019): 1-27 © 2018 The Author(s)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
In this article, we summarize the work of the NASA Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) Roadmaps to Ocean Worlds (ROW) group. The aim of this group is to assemble the scientific framework that will guide the exploration of ocean worlds, and to identify and prioritize science objectives for ocean worlds over the next several decades. The overarching goal of an Ocean Worlds exploration program as defined by ROW is to "identify ocean worlds, characterize their oceans, evaluate their habitability, search for life, and ultimately understand any life we find." The ROW team supports the creation of an exploration program that studies the full spectrum of ocean worlds, that is, not just the exploration of known ocean worlds such as Europa but candidate ocean worlds such as Triton as well. The ROW team finds that the confirmed ocean worlds Enceladus, Titan, and Europa are the highest priority bodies to target in the near term to address ROW goals. Triton is the highest priority candidate ocean world to target in the near term. A major finding of this study is that, to map out a coherent Ocean Worlds Program, significant input is required from studies here on Earth; rigorous Research and Analysis studies are called for to enable some future ocean worlds missions to be thoughtfully planned and undertaken. A second finding is that progress needs to be made in the area of collaborations between Earth ocean scientists and extraterrestrial ocean scientists.
MIT Department
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ast.2018.1955
