Interstellar Now! Missions to and Sample Returns from Nearby Interstellar Objects

TL;DR

This paper explores feasible mission concepts using current or near-term technology to visit and sample interstellar objects like 'Oumuamua and Borisov, aiming to understand their origins and properties.

Contribution

It maps interstellar object classes to specific mission types, detailing flyby, rendezvous, and sample return strategies for direct exploration.

Findings

Feasible mission types for interstellar objects identified

Sample return missions can analyze composition and structure

Exploration will inform about interstellar object origins

Abstract

The recently discovered first high velocity hyperbolic objects passing through the Solar System, 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, have raised the question about near term missions to Interstellar Objects. In situ spacecraft exploration of these objects will allow the direct determination of both their structure and their chemical and isotopic composition, enabling an entirely new way of studying small bodies from outside our solar system. In this paper, we map various Interstellar Object classes to mission types, demonstrating that missions to a range of Interstellar Object classes are feasible, using existing or near-term technology. We describe flyby, rendezvous and sample return missions to interstellar objects, showing various ways to explore these bodies characterizing their surface, dynamics, structure and composition. Interstellar objects likely formed very far from the solar system in both time and space; their direct exploration will constrain their formation and history, situating them within the dynamical and chemical evolution of the Galaxy. These mission types also provide the opportunity to explore solar system bodies and perform measurements in the far outer solar system.