Published July 2018 | Version Submitted + Published
Journal Article Open

Solar system science with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope

Abstract

We present a community-led assessment of the solar system investigations achievable with NASA's next-generation space telescope, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST). WFIRST will provide imaging, spectroscopic, and coronagraphic capabilities from 0.43 to 2.0  μm and will be a potential contemporary and eventual successor to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Surveys of irregular satellites and minor bodies are where WFIRST will excel with its 0.28  deg^2 field-of-view Wide Field Instrument. Potential ground-breaking discoveries from WFIRST could include detection of the first minor bodies orbiting in the inner Oort Cloud, identification of additional Earth Trojan asteroids, and the discovery and characterization of asteroid binary systems similar to Ida/Dactyl. Additional investigations into asteroids, giant planet satellites, Trojan asteroids, Centaurs, Kuiper belt objects, and comets are presented. Previous use of astrophysics assets for solar system science and synergies between WFIRST, Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, JWST, and the proposed Near-Earth Object Camera mission is discussed. We also present the case for implementation of moving target tracking, a feature that will benefit from the heritage of JWST and enable a broader range of solar system observations.

Additional Information

© 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Paper 17103 received Jan. 3, 2018; accepted for publication Jul. 26, 2018; published online Aug. 14, 2018. First and foremost, the authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers who provided comments that helped to significantly improve and focus this paper. We would also like to thank Jeff Kruk for his comments and clarifications, as well as Ed Nelan and Jason Kalirai for their advice. Ray Villard and Lou Strolger at the Space Telescope Science Institute provided the information necessary for evaluating the public impact of solar system observations made with the HST. WFIRST is a NASA Astrophysics Science Division joint project of the Goddard Space Flight Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Institute for Technology's Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, and the Space Telescope Science Institute. A portion of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This work made the use of the Minor Planet and Comet Ephemeris Service (IAU Minor Planet Center). M. T. Bannister appreciates support from the UK STFC Grant No. ST/L000709/1.

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Submitted - 1709.02763.pdf

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Additional details

Additional titles

Alternative title
Solar system science with the Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST)

Identifiers

Eprint ID
98254
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20190826-155823596

Related works

Funding

NASA/JPL/Caltech
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
ST/L000709/1

Dates

Created
2019-08-26
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Updated
2021-11-16
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