ODINUS (Origins, Dynamics, and Interiors of the Neptunian and Uranian Systems) is a space mission concept proposed to the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

Cosmic Vision Cosmic Vision is the third campaign of space science and space exploration missions in the Science Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA). Formulated in 2005 as ''Cosmic Vision: Space Science for Europe 2015–2025'', the campaign succee ...

programme. The ODINUS mission concept proposes to expand the Uranus orbiter and probe mission to two twin orbiters— dubbed ''

Freyr Freyr (Old Norse: 'Lord'), sometimes anglicized as Frey, is a widely attested god in Norse mythology, associated with kingship, fertility, peace, and weather. Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden an ...

'' and ''

Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

'', the twin gods of the

Norse pantheon In Germanic paganism, the indigenous religion of the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabited Germanic Europe, there were a number of different gods and goddesses. Germanic deities are attested from numerous sources, including works of literature, ...

. Their primary mission would be to study

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

and

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...

with one orbiter each. If selected, ODINUS would launch in 2034.

Instruments

The following six instruments are considered essential to the mission: *Camera (Wide and Narrow Angle) – Designed to image the planet at the same level of detail as missions to the two gas giants have provided. *VIS-NIR Image Spectrometer *

Magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

– To study the magnetic fields of Neptune. *Mass Spectrometer (Ions and Neutrals, INMS) *Doppler Spectro-Imager – To take seismic measurements. *Microwave Radiometer The following two additional instruments are strongly desired by the mission proposers: *Energetic Neutral Atoms Detector – To complement the measurements of the INMS. *High-sensitivity Accelerometer – To be used in the atmospheric descent phase.

References

Proposed space probes Missions to Uranus Missions to Neptune Orbiters (space probe) European Space Agency space probes {{Spacecraft-stub

Instruments

See also

References