[Previous] | [Session 26] | [Next] T.R. Spilker (JPL/Caltech) In
cooperation with NASA's Solar System Exploration Subcommittee
and its working groups, JPL is studying planetary science
missions proposed for launch near the end of the next decade.
Results will focus resources on developing technologies that
enable a set of missions in which extraordinary scientific
advances reward meeting severe technological challenges. This
paper describes Saturn Ring Observer, an innovative, chemical-
propulsion-only approach to a previous mission concept that
enables close-up observation of Saturn's rings to obtain
fundamental new information about ring dynamics, some relevant
to planetary system formation. It describes the mission's
science goals, provided by the Astrophysical Analogs in the
Solar System Campaign Strategy Working Group, and the resulting
mission concept. The primary goal is understanding ring
processes and evolution as a model for the origin of planetary
systems. This involves direct observations of kinema