The Saturn Ring Skimmer Mission Concept: The next step to explore Saturn's rings, atmosphere, interior, and inner magnetosphere

TL;DR

The Saturn Ring Skimmer mission concept aims to explore Saturn's rings, atmosphere, and interior, providing new insights into planetary systems and astrophysical disks through innovative observational techniques.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mission concept to study Saturn's rings and magnetosphere, enabling unprecedented observations of particles, composition, and dynamical processes.

Findings

First direct observations of individual particles in Saturn's rings

Constraints on the origin and evolution of Saturn's rings

Insights into the interconnected system of rings, magnetosphere, and planet

Abstract

The innovative Saturn Ring Skimmer mission concept enables a wide range of investigations that address fundamental questions about Saturn and its rings, as well as giant planets and astrophysical disk systems in general. This mission would provide new insights into the dynamical processes that operate in astrophysical disk systems by observing individual particles in Saturn's rings for the first time. The Ring Skimmer would also constrain the origin, history, and fate of Saturn's rings by determining their compositional evolution and material transport rates. In addition, the Ring Skimmer would reveal how the rings, magnetosphere, and planet operate as an inter-connected system by making direct measurements of the ring's atmosphere, Saturn's inner magnetosphere and the material owing from the rings into the planet. At the same time, this mission would clarify the dynamical processes operating in the planet's visible atmosphere and deep interior by making extensive high-resolution observations of cloud features and repeated measurements of the planet's extremely dynamic gravitational field. Given the scientific potential of this basic mission concept, we advocate that it be studied in depth as a potential option for the New Frontiers program.