[X] My Assistant

[gndonald]

This is something I've been thinking about over the last few days and I'd like to post it here for discussion.

I got an idea for a Jupiter probe, which I term the Jupiter Distant Orbiter.

The instrument fit is primarily particles and fields, with the objective being to map the radiation belts/magnetic field from outside the orbit of Callisto. The probe would also be fitted with a 'HiRISE - style' camera to enable photography of the moons/Jupiter.

The orbit used would be one that is highly inclined so that the probe is never occluded by Jupiter itself.

Comments?

[Spacecadet]

Somethings to keep in mind...

A camera (any camera), especially a high-end one like HiRISE, will be very difficult to deploy in the Jovian environment. The radiation would make much more difficult to build, and HiRISE was not exactly easy (or cheap ) to build in the first place.

Why a camera? What will you learn? Instruments are deployed on spacecraft to answer scientific questions. What questions will a camera answer?

The ESA mission study is pretty aggressive. The level of radiation shielding they assume for the instruments is paltry compared to the 5mrad assumption of radiation dosage. It is difficult to make digital electronics that can take 50-100 krad... let alone 5mrad with minimal shielding.

I also find the masses/power of the instruments to be very suspect... I usually check http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/ and look for similar instruments. You will probably be able to build lighter more capable instruments in the future... but not by factors of 2 or more... especially since you will have to use older, lower performing parts to withstand the radiation.