Enabling New Exploration Opportunities on Planetary Surfaces

Motivation Recent observations of planetary bodies have revealed surface activities that have intrigued the science community. Image sequences of Saturn’s moon Enceladus have shown what appears to be icy particles ejecting from its south polar regions. High resolutions images from the Mars Global Surveyor and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have captured recent activities on the interior of crater walls. The most recent discovery of recurring flows in the warm seasons on Mars suggest briny water flows on the steep slopes of the crater walls, such as Newton crater. Exploring such sites on Mars could help answer questions as to whether life ever existed on Mars or whether it could still be present. Analysis of ejected debris following the impact from the LCROSS experiment of the LRO mission suggest the presence of water ice in the Moon’s permanently shadowed Cabeus Crater.