Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission

Full list of authors: Snodgrass, C.; Mazzotta Epifani, E.; Tubiana, C.; Sánchez, J. P.; Biver, N.; Inno, L.; Knight, M. M.; Lacerda, P.; De Keyser, J.; Donaldson, A.; Edberg, N. J. T.; Galand, M.; Guilbert-Lepoutre, A.; Henri, P.; Kasahara, S.; Kawakita, H.; Kokotanekova, R.; Kueppers, M.; Micheli,...

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Authors: Snodgrass, C., Lara, Luisa María
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2026
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::965b4304245f594b2bf809470f2eb6bd
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/432113
Access Level:Embargoed access
Keyword:Long period comets (933)
Flyby missions (545)
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dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
title Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
spellingShingle Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
Snodgrass, C.
Long period comets (933)
Flyby missions (545)
title_short Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
title_full Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
title_fullStr Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
title_full_unstemmed Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
title_sort Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor mission
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Snodgrass, C.
Lara, Luisa María
author Snodgrass, C.
author_facet Snodgrass, C.
Lara, Luisa María
author_role author
author2 Lara, Luisa María
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv UK Space Agency
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (France)
Belgian Science Policy Office
Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales (France)
Bulgarian National Science Fund
Estonian Government
Agencia Estatal de Investigación (España)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España)
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Long period comets (933)
Flyby missions (545)
topic Long period comets (933)
Flyby missions (545)
description Full list of authors: Snodgrass, C.; Mazzotta Epifani, E.; Tubiana, C.; Sánchez, J. P.; Biver, N.; Inno, L.; Knight, M. M.; Lacerda, P.; De Keyser, J.; Donaldson, A.; Edberg, N. J. T.; Galand, M.; Guilbert-Lepoutre, A.; Henri, P.; Kasahara, S.; Kawakita, H.; Kokotanekova, R.; Kueppers, M.; Micheli, M.; Pajusalu, M.; Rubin, M.; Sakatani, N.; Yoshioka, K.; Della Corte, V.; Eriksson, A. I.; Fulle, M.; Holt, C.; Lara, L.; Rotundi, A.; Jehin, E.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
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info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
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dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/432113
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/432113
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info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/CEX2021-001131-S
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116887
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dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
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spelling Considerations on the process of target selection for the Comet Interceptor missionSnodgrass, C.Lara, Luisa MaríaLong period comets (933)Flyby missions (545)Full list of authors: Snodgrass, C.; Mazzotta Epifani, E.; Tubiana, C.; Sánchez, J. P.; Biver, N.; Inno, L.; Knight, M. M.; Lacerda, P.; De Keyser, J.; Donaldson, A.; Edberg, N. J. T.; Galand, M.; Guilbert-Lepoutre, A.; Henri, P.; Kasahara, S.; Kawakita, H.; Kokotanekova, R.; Kueppers, M.; Micheli, M.; Pajusalu, M.; Rubin, M.; Sakatani, N.; Yoshioka, K.; Della Corte, V.; Eriksson, A. I.; Fulle, M.; Holt, C.; Lara, L.; Rotundi, A.; Jehin, E.Comet Interceptor is an ESA science mission with payload contributions from ESA Member States and with an international participation by JAXA. It is the first mission that is being designed, built, and potentially launched before its target is known. This approach will enable the spacecraft to perform the first mission to a Long Period Comet from the Oort Cloud, as these comets have fleeting visits to the inner Solar System lasting only months to years from first discovery, too short for the usual process of mission development to be followed. In this paper we describe a number of factors that need to be considered in selecting a target for the mission, including scientific, orbital, spacecraft and instrument constraints, and discussion of different prioritisation strategies. We find that, in the case where we have a choice of targets, our decisions will mostly be driven by orbital information, which we will have relatively early on, with information on the activity level of the comet an important but secondary consideration. As cometary activity levels are notoriously hard to predict based on early observations alone, this prioritisation / decision approach based more on orbits gives us confidence that a good comet that is compatible with the spacecraft constraints will be selectable with sufficient warning time to allow the mission to intercept it. © 2024The authors acknowledge the support of the ESA project team and of the industrial consortium developing the Comet Interceptor mission. We thank the two anonymous referees for comments that helped us improve this manuscript. CS and AD acknowledge funding from the UK Space Agency. EME and CT acknowledge the Italian Space Agency (ASI), contract ASI-INAF n. 2023-14-HH.0). JPS acknowledges support from Centre National d’´Etudes Spatiales (CNES). LI was supported by ASI within the ASI-INAF agreements I/024/12/0 and 2020-4-HH.0. JDK acknowledges support from BELSPO through ESA PEA 4000139830. AGL was supported by CNES (mission Comet Interceptor). PH was supported by CNES APR. RK acknowledges partial support by project KP-06-D002/3 “CLIC – Cometary Life Cycle,” carried out under the PROMYS (Promotion of Young Scientists) component of the Swiss–Bulgarian Research. Programme and supported by the Bulgarian National Science Fund. MP acknowledges support from the Estonian Research Council grant RVTT7 "ESA Science Consortium of Estonia". LML acknowledges grants PID2021-126365NB-C21 and Severo Ochoa grant CEX2021-001131-S MICIU/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Naval Academy, Department of the Navy, the Department of Defence, or the U.S. Government.With funding from the Spanish government through the "Severo Ochoa Centre of Excelence" accreditation ( CEX2021-001131-S)Peer reviewedElsevierUK Space AgencyAgenzia Spaziale ItalianaCentre National D'Etudes Spatiales (France)Belgian Science Policy OfficeCentre National D'Etudes Spatiales (France)Bulgarian National Science FundEstonian GovernmentAgencia Estatal de Investigación (España)Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]202620262026info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Postprintinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/432113reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/PID2021-126365NB-C21info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2021-2023/CEX2021-001131-Shttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116887Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccessoai:dnet:digitalcsic_::965b4304245f594b2bf809470f2eb6bd2026-05-22T06:33:51Z
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