OSS (Outer Solar System): A fundamental and planetary physics
mission to Neptune, Triton and the Kuiper Belt Abstract: The
present OSS mission continues a long and bright tradition by
associating the communities of fundamental physics and planetary
sciences in a single mission with ambitious goals in both
domains. OSS is an M-class mission to explore the Neptune system
almost half a century after flyby of the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
Several discoveries were made by Voyager 2, including the Great
Dark Spot (which has now disappeared) and Triton's geysers.
Voyager 2 revealed the dynamics of Neptune's atmosphere and
found four rings and evidence of ring arcs above Neptune.
Benefiting from a greatly improved instrumentation, it will
result in a striking advance in the study of the farthest planet
of the Solar System. Furthermore, OSS will provide a unique
opportunity to visit a selected Kuiper Belt object subsequent to
the passage of the Neptunian system. It will consolidate the
hypothesis of the origin of Triton a