8 mars 2022
Speaker : Michel Blanc (astronome émérite à l’IRAP, directeur de l’Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées)
Title: Horizon 2061 perspectives for the future exploration of Giant Planets systems
Abstract : Giant Planet Systems offer four different examples of “small planetary systems” which are accessible both to in situ exploration and telescope observations inside our own planetary system. As described in the recently released report of the « Planetary Exploration, Horizon 2061 » foresight exercise ( https://horizon2061.cnrs.fr/publications/ ), exploration of these systems can address in depth six key science questions about planetary systems: exploring the diversity of their objects and the diversity of their architectures, understanding their formation scenarios and how they work, where to search for habitable worlds, and finally how to detect life. I will discuss how future space missions can address these questions in the decades to come. Finally, I will describe our current and future work on the coupling of giant planets atmospheres with their moons and magnetospheres, its current focus on the Jupiter System with Juno observations, and our plans to extend them to other giant planet systems and possibly to planet/moon/disk interactions.