Abstract
Stella is a proposed European contribution to NASA's Interstellar Probe (ISP), a large-strategic mission candidate. Traveling at a speed of 7 au/year ISP will reach 350 au during its nominal 50-year life-time. ISP's main goal is to understand our habitable astrosphere and its home in the galaxy. Stella contributes to achieving the ISP goal by answering five Stella-specific science questions: • Q1: What is the composition of the local interstellar medium? • Q2: How is our dynamical heliosphere upheld and how does it change from the Sun to the local interstellar medium? • Q3: What is the origin and role of galactic cosmic rays in the solar system and beyond? • Q4: How does the local interstellar medium become structured when it meets the heliosphere? • Q5: Are there any deviations from the 1/r gravity law on the interstellar scale? Stella assumes a model European ISP payload: a neutral gas mass spectrometer, plasma package, cosmic ray spectrometer, UV spectrograph, and radio science (utilizing the S/C radio for the fundamental physics question). We will review the science case for this potential European payload complement.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | x73530 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress, IAC |
| Volume | 2022-September |
| Publication status | Published - 18 Sept 2022 |
| Event | 73rd International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2022 - Paris, France Duration: 18 Sept 2022 → 22 Sept 2022 |
Keywords
- heliopause
- heliosphere
- Interstellar probe
- Very Local Interstellar Medium