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Title: Astrobiology Priorities for Planetary Science Flight Missions
Primary Author: Carl Pilcher
Secondary Author(s): Kevin P. Hand, Patricia M. Beauchamp, David Des Marais, David Grinspoon, Karen J. Meech, Sean N. Raymond
Institution: NASA Astrobiology Institute, NASA Ames Research Center
Summary: We have posited in another white paper that all of Planetary System Science can be seen through an astrobiological lens. In this paper we present priorities for flight mission investigations derived by applying that lens to the Planetary Science flight mission program.
Panel Selection: Inner Planets: Mercury, Venus, and the Moon. Mars: Not Phobos and Deimos. Giant Planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and exoplanets, including rings and magnetic fields, but not their satellites. Satellites: Galilean satellites, Titan, and the other satellites of the giant planets. Primitive Bodies: Asteroids, comets, Phobos, Deimos, Pluto/Charon and other Kuiper belt objects, meteorites, and interplanetary dust.
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These documents have been prepared in coordination with the National Academies of Science in support of the National Academies Planetary Science Decadal Survey. These documents are being made available for information purposes only, and any views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of NASA, JPL, or the California Institute of Technology.