Searching for Ariel’s Aliens with the CRISPI (Compositional Regolith and Icy Surface analysis via Particle Impact) Mass Spectrometer SmallSat Flyby Mission

CRISPI (Compositional Regolith and Icy Surface analysis via Particle Impact) is a proposed ridealong in-situ mass spectrometer (MS) smallsat mission to provide synergistic astrobiology science at Ariel to the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) mission. By utilizing a high-resolution impact ionization MS based on the Europa Clipper’s Surface Dust Analyzer on a deployable smallsat platform, CRISPSI will provide in-situ mass data of the surface of Ariel, a moon of Uranus and one of the highest-priority astrobiology targets in the outer solar system. Ariel is specifically called out in the Origins, Worlds, and Life (OWL) Decadal Survey as a high-priority target because it is potentially a liquid-water-bearing icy ocean world that is known to have ammonia, an organic volatile species that indicates recent surface processing (possibly from cryovolcanism or other subsurface sources) and may act as an anti-freeze for water. However, the baseline UOP mission has few flybys of Ariel with limited compositional data provided only by optical spectrometers. CRISPI addresses this gap by enabling the direct and unambiguous detection of organics and salts present in and the quantification of ice-to-rock and salt-to-water ratios of >1000 surface dust grains mapped to visible features on Ariel’s surface. In principle, CRISPI may also be used to study Miranda (another high priority astrobiology target) and the Uranus ring systems, which are poorly understood and are also specifically called out in the OWL Decadal Survey. Here we present results from the Cornell SmallSat Mission Design School (SMDS) that developed the CRISPI mission concept. We propose CRISPI to work in synergy with the UOP’s magnetometer, imagers, and optical spectrometers to extend its science reach, break ambiguities in optical spectrometer data, and provide unique and critical in-situ mass spectral data to assess Ariel’s habitability and search for organic signs of past or extant life.