Future exploration of the ice giants

Dr Leigh Fletcher is a Planetary Scientist specialising in the exploration of our Solar System’s giant planets via robotic missions and ground-based astronomy. He is a Royal Society University Research Fellow (URF) and Associate Professor in Planetary Sciences at the University of Leicester. He earned a Natural Science degree from Cambridge, a PhD in Planetary Physics from Oxford, and has since worked as a NASA fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and as a Research Fellow at Oxford. He received the 2016 Harold C Urey prize for outstanding achievements in planetary science by an early-career scientist, awarded by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. He is a co-investigator on the Cassini mission to Saturn, the JUICE mission to Jupiter, and a passionate advocate for future exploration of the distance Ice Giants. He currently leads a planetary atmospheres team at the University of Leicester, funded by the Royal Society, STFC, and the European Research Council.

Dr Amy Simon is the Senior Scientist for Planetary Atmospheres Research at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). She joined NASA in 2001, following a postdoctoral position at Cornell University. Dr Simon’s scientific research focuses primarily on the composition, atmospheric structure, and dynamics of the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune from analysis of spacecraft data. She is the Principal Investigator of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program, and is actively involved in flight mission work, as a co-I on NASA’s Cassini, OSIRIS-REx, and Lucy missions. She served as co-lead of the NASA JPL Ice Giant mission concept study.

Dr Hofstadter has over 25 years' experience in Planetary Science, including ground- and space-based observing, mission design and operations, technical and personnel management, teaching, and public outreach. His research primarily involves microwave remote sensing of giant planets and comets, but he has also published work related to the Earth, Mars, and asteroids. He is the PI of a NASA instrument (MIRO) which flew on board the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. Dr Hofstadter served as Co-Chair of a NASA Science Definition Team investigating possible future missions to Uranus and Neptune, and currently serves on the Steering Committee of NASA's Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG). He is a member of the DPS, AGU, and EGU scientific organizations. Dr Hofstadter received a BS degree in Physics from Stanford University and MS and PhD degrees in Planetary Science from Caltech.

Ravit Helled is a Planetary Scientist and a Professor for Theoretical Astrophysics at the Institute for Computational Science, Center for Theoretical Astrophysics & Cosmology, University of Zurich. Professor Helled received her PhD from Tel-Aviv University in 2008 on the topic "The Formation of Jupiter". Ravit was a postdoc and senior researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles (2007-2011), and then a professor at Tel Aviv University (2011-2016). Her scientific work concentrates on planet formation and evolution, planetary interiors, and extrasolar planets. Ravit Helled is involved in space exploration and is a science team member of various ESA and NASA space missions. She is a frequent invited speaker at international conferences, and often serves on committees and various science panels.

Jonathan Fortney is a Professor in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the Director of the university’s Other Worlds Laboratory. Professor Fortney is a theorist and modeler who works to understand the interiors, atmospheres, and thermal evolution of planets inside and outside the solar system. He has been a member of the science team of NASA’s Cassini Mission to Saturn and NASA’s Kepler Mission to find planets in orbit around other stars. Professor Fortney has a particular interest in the structure and composition of the solar system’s giant planets, and trying to make connections with the numerous exoplanets of similar masses that have been found around other stars. Recognition for his work includes a Sloan Research Fellowship and the Urey Prize from the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences.

Ricardo Hueso (Bilbao, Spain, 1973). Dr R Hueso studied physics at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) where he graduated in Physics. He obtained his PhD in Physics at the same University in 2000, with a thesis on the 'Atmosphere dynamics of large-scale storms in the Giant Planets'. He moved to the Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur where he studied early stages of protoplanetary disks with applications to the study of the Solar System formation and the giant plants. He was a 'Ramon y Cajal Fellow' in the UPV/EHU in Spain from 2006-2009 where he continued working on atmospheric dynamics of different Solar System planets from Venus to Neptune including Saturn's moon Titan. He is currently an Assistant professor at the Faculty of Engineering in the UPV/EHU where his work involves astronomical observations, numerical modeling, data analysis from different space missions, frequent collaborations with amateur astronomers and teaching.

Julianne I. Moses is a Senior Research Scientist at the Space Science Institute (SSI), which is based in Boulder, Colorado, USA.  She received her undergraduate degree in physics (with honors) from Cornell University in 1985 and her PhD in planetary science and geophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1991.  Her research expertise is in physical and chemical processes in planetary and satellite atmospheres, with a particular emphasis on photochemical and thermochemical kinetics modeling of giant planets and extrasolar planets, aerosol formation and dynamics, upper atmospheric structure and chemistry, and atmosphere-surface interactions.

Dr Henrik Melin is an expert in analysing ground-based and spacecraft observations of the giant planets. He obtained his PhD in planetary science from University College London in 2006, working with Professor Steve Miller on ground-based infrared observations of H3+ from Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Henrik spent his first postdoc in Los Angles, working on ultraviolet data from the Cassini spacecraft, mapping neutrals inside the magnetosphere of the planet. Returning to the UK in 2009, he settled in at the University of Leicester, working to combine spacecraft and ground-based observations of the giant planets, studying the entire column of atmosphere, from the troposphere, through the stratosphere and up to the thermosphere.

Krista Soderlund is a planetary geophysicist broadly interested in fluid dynamic processes. She is a Research Scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), previously earning dual BSc degrees in Physics and Space Sciences from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2005 and a PhD in Geophysics and Space Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011. She uses numerical models to simulate convection and magnetic field generation within planetary interiors and to study icy satellite oceans and ice shells. Soderlund is also a science team member of the ice-penetrating radar instrument (REASON) on the Europa Clipper mission and served recently on NASA's Ice Giant Mission Study Science Definition Team.

Dr Carol Paty is a planetary and space physicist interested in the planetary magnetospheric dynamics and the complex interactions between moons, magnetospheres and ionospheres. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Oregon in the Department of Earth Sciences and in the Clark Honors College. She earned her PhD in Geophysics and Space Physics at the University of Washington and her BA in Physics and Astronomy from Bryn Mawr College. Her research develops 3-dimension numerical simulations to provide a context for integrating and interpreting diverse datasets collected by in situ and remote sensing techniques. She was a participating scientist in NASA's Cassini Mission to Saturn, and is currently a Co-Investigator on the Europa Clipper mission and Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer mission. She is also actively involved in proposals and white papers to inspire a future mission to the Ice Giant systems.

Laurent Lamy is expert in planetary magnetospheres and auroral physics investigated by the means of modeling, UV and radioastronomy.

Dr Mark Showalter is a Senior Research Scientist and Fellow of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California. Most of his research focuses on the dynamics of rings and small satellites in the solar system. Early in his career, he participated in the Voyager flybys of Uranus and Neptune as an associate of the imaging team. He has also been a co-Investigator on the Cassini mission to Saturn and the New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt. Starting in 2003, his work with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) led to the discoveries of the two small moons Mab and Cupid, as well as two faint dust rings. More recently, he led the team that discovered Hippocamp, a small inner moon of Neptune.

Dr Elizabeth (Zibi) Turtle is a planetary scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. Her research combines remote-sensing observations and modeling of geological structures and their implications for planetary surfaces, interiors, and their evolution, including impact cratering and tectonics on satellites and terrestrial planets, and lakes and seasonal weather on Titan. She has participated in the Galileo, Cassini, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, and is the Principal Investigator for the Europa Imaging System (EIS) on Europa Clipper and for the Dragonfly Titan mission concept being studied under NASA's New Frontiers Program. She earned her PhD in Planetary Sciences from University Arizona and her BSc in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr Michele Bannister is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Director’s Outreach Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast. An expert in the discovery and characterization of the populations of small worlds in the Solar System, she has been involved in the discovery of more than eight hundred minor planets that orbit beyond Neptune, and in the observation and further study of interstellar objects including 'Oumuamua. A keen advocate of the public discussion of science, Bannister is a frequent guest on the BBC’s Sky at Night. She was honoured in 2017 by the International Astronomical Union with asteroid (10463) Bannister.

Dr Heidi B Hammel received her undergraduate degree from MIT and her PhD from the University of Hawaii. She is currently the Executive Vice President of AURA, a consortium that operates large astronomical observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr Hammel primarily studies outer planets; she served on the imaging team for the Voyager 2 Neptune encounter, and has studied Uranus and Neptune extensively with Hubble, Keck, and other facilities. She is an Interdisciplinary Scientist for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, and plans to use her guaranteed observing time to study a diverse array of Solar System targets including the outer planets. She has been recognized for both her science and her work in public outreach, including the Sagan Medal and the San Francisco Exploratorium's Public Understanding of Science Award. Asteroid "1981 EC20" was renamed 3530 Hammel in her honour.

Abi Rymer is a space physicist with over 15 years' experience studying the Outer Planets as part of the Cassini and Juno instrument teams. Originally from North-West England she followed a non-traditional route to academia including running a pub in Preston, Lancashire and Fine Fragrance Research with Proctor and Gamble in Egham, Surrey. Abi led the multi-instrument team that identified the Enceladus auroral footprint at Saturn and as a result developed an interest in cross-disciplinary topics, from magnetic microbes to exoplanet atmospheres. Most recently she is participating as Co-Investigator and Investigation Scientist on the planned Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter and on proposals and White Papers to help motivate a NASA-led mission to a solar system Ice Giant and to promote cross-divisional research opportunities at NASA.

Dr Hofstadter has over 25 years' experience in Planetary Science, including ground- and space-based observing, mission design and operations, technical and personnel management, teaching, and public outreach. His research primarily involves microwave remote sensing of giant planets and comets, but he has also published work related to the Earth, Mars, and asteroids. He is the PI of a NASA instrument (MIRO) which flew on board the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. Dr Hofstadter served as Co-Chair of a NASA Science Definition Team investigating possible future missions to Uranus and Neptune, and currently serves on the Steering Committee of NASA's Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG). He is a member of the DPS, AGU, and EGU scientific organizations. Dr Hofstadter received a BS degree in Physics from Stanford University and MS and PhD degrees in Planetary Science from Caltech.

John Elliott is a principal engineer in JPL’s Mission Concept Systems Development group. He is currently leading studies in support of future outer planets exploration in addition to ongoing work in the development of concepts for robotic lunar exploration. He currently serves as lead architect and systems engineer for the Solar System Mission Formulation office and core flight systems engineer on JPL’s A-Team for early mission concept development. His recent tasks have included serving as study lead for NASA’s Ice Giants Pre-Decadal Survey Mission Study, and performing systems engineering and leadership roles on a number of recent Discovery and New Frontiers mission proposals. Mr Elliott’s past experience includes six years in the terrestrial nuclear power industry with Bechtel Corporation in addition to 28 years in aerospace systems at TRW and JPL.

Dr Thomas R Spilker received his PhD in 1990 from Stanford University's Center for Radar Astronomy, in Radio Science/Electrical Engineering. From there he went directly to JPL, first as a National Research Council (NRC) Resident Research Associate, then as an employee in the Science Division, eventually to the Advanced Mission Concepts Section as a Principal Mission Architect. While at JPL he worked on NASA's Voyager, Cassini-Huygens, and Genesis missions, and ESA's Rosetta mission as a Co-Investigator on the MIRO instrument, spent three years on the NRC Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration, and was a member of the Satellites of the Giant Planets panel for the 2013-2022 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Taking early retirement from JPL in 2012 to pursue consulting, he has worked with mission concepts from Venus to the ice giant planets and beyond. Currently he is the Technology representative for NASA's Outer Planets Assessment Group.

Richard Ambrosi obtained his PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa. He moved to Leicester in 2000 to work on the Swift Gamma Ray Burst Observatory X-ray Telescope as CCD calibration scientist. Between 2003 and 2005 Richard worked on radiation and dust impact on space instruments with a focus on the ESA Gaia mission and planned future X-ray astronomy missions. In 2006 Richard became the UK Technical Lead for the ExoMars X-ray Diffraction instrument MARS-XRD. Since 2008 Richard has been leading the development of radioisotope thermoelectric generators, heater units for the European Space Agency. Richard is currently Director of the MSc in Space Exploration Systems and also Deputy Director of the Space Research Centre at the University of Leicester. Since 2016 Richard has been working on various aspects of the development and delivery of Space Park Leicester.

Dr Amy Simon is the Senior Scientist for Planetary Atmospheres Research at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). She joined NASA in 2001, following a postdoctoral position at Cornell University. Dr Simon’s scientific research focuses primarily on the composition, atmospheric structure, and dynamics of the atmospheres of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune from analysis of spacecraft data. She is the Principal Investigator of the Hubble Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program, and is actively involved in flight mission work, as a co-I on NASA’s Cassini, OSIRIS-REx, and Lucy missions. She served as co-lead of the NASA JPL Ice Giant mission concept study.

Dr Hofstadter has over 25 years' experience in Planetary Science, including ground- and space-based observing, mission design and operations, technical and personnel management, teaching, and public outreach. His research primarily involves microwave remote sensing of giant planets and comets, but he has also published work related to the Earth, Mars, and asteroids. He is the PI of a NASA instrument (MIRO) which flew on board the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft. Dr Hofstadter served as Co-Chair of a NASA Science Definition Team investigating possible future missions to Uranus and Neptune, and currently serves on the Steering Committee of NASA's Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG). He is a member of the DPS, AGU, and EGU scientific organizations. Dr Hofstadter received a BS degree in Physics from Stanford University and MS and PhD degrees in Planetary Science from Caltech.