Our Special Correspondent writes:

"Latest OPAG update in...

Some mildly interesting stuff in it:"

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/opag/1_07_update.pdf

... and I put it here because there's more about Saturn in it than about other outer planets.

Phil

Has anyone heard any news from the recent (May 2007) OPAG meeting? Especially with respect to the various mission studies for Titan, Europa, Enceladus, and the Ganymede-Jupiter System (presumably with that MIDAS concept included...)

I'd be most interested to learn of what was discussed, and when the documents will be posted,

Many thanks,

Roly

I checked today and the agenda and reports from the May 2007 meeting have been posted.

Thanks, Roly. There are some interesting presentations there.

Interesting stuff. Kinda like the Jupiter System Obser... oh, wait, the Ganymede Orbiter... Good instrumentation on the Europa Observer. Still need to flip through the Titan presentations.

Another interesting comment. In James Green's New Frontiers status presentation, he comments that NASA has been obliged to reassess and expand the field of potential targets for the New Frontiers program with each AO. The reassessment for the upcoming AO will arrive by the end of FY07. These reassessment will still use the decadal survey as a starting off point. Now of those missions deemed medium-class, we still have the Lunar South Pole Sample Return, the Comet Nucleus Sample Return, and the Venus In-situ explorer. There is also a deferred category from which to look for possible new missions. These include a Ganymede observer (which is now being looked at as a small-flagship class mission), a Trojan/Centaur flyby mission, and an Io mission....

hmmm

Very interesting, thanks for this.

My take away:
1) No chance of solving the choice between Saturn or Jupiter by knocking Titan or Enceledus down to NF status (Damn);
2) Titan Flagship baseline is a much sexier mission (ballon + lander + orbiter) AND demonstrates aerocapture, which seems to be ready to first trial;
3) Europa Explorer helps make up the loss of large scale images from the Galileo HGA failure (other than Io) in addition to Europa mapping coverage and lacks sexiness of a lander;
4) Jupiter System Observer seems much less salient than either of these;
5) Given the discussion of Enceladus in the NH cost study, it's tough to see how that mission profile (unavailable at the website) matches up well with either the Titan or Europa proposal;
6) ESAs projected "slices" of funding seem, not to put a fine on it, fantastical and unrealistic.

Given the demonstrated value of ground-truthing Titan, how likely is a Europa mission without that capability? And how do you pick that orbiter over the much more ambitious Titan proposal?

I think the winds are blowing for Titan on this selection....

Cassini has more than three years to go, probably more. Many new things will be learned and have to be understood. I do not think we are intellectually ready for a Saturn/Titan mission now or in the next couple of years. Europa/Jupiter should come first. Galileo, Cassini and New Horizons data are or will soon be analyzed. I doubt a Titan flagship with aerobreaking + ballon + lander + orbiter can be done for $3 billion. Jupiter is the next logical choice imho.

Analyst

PS: Juno is now $1 billion in FY 2006 dollars. I guess this includes international partners, buy anyway, you can see how much a "simple, not very sexy and non RTG" Jupiter mission can cost.

Did anyone bother to check ESA's presentation? That looks quite ambitious to me...
TANDEM is a dream and KRONOS intends to put two probes on Saturn's atmosphere along with microsats study the rings...