Small Bodies Tell the Story of the Solar System: A Rationale for a Small Body Sample Return Program including Laboratory Analysis of Returned Samples
Whitepaper #171 submitted to the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032. Topics: laboratory studies; primitive bodies; solar system formation, dynamics processes, and chronology
by Seth Jacobson, Maitrayee Bose, Dennis Bodewits, Marc Fries, Devanshu Jha, Prajkta Mane, Larry Nittler, Scott Sandford, and Michelle Thompson
Published onMar 18, 2021
Small Bodies Tell the Story of the Solar System: A Rationale for a Small Body Sample Return Program including Laboratory Analysis of Returned Samples
Small bodies are time-capsules of different eras of solar system history from the most primitive materials within the solar system to evolved pieces of larger bodies. A small body sample return program is an essential component of small body exploration, and such a program should include opportunities for both missions and laboratory analysis.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
