CALICO: A Future Mission Review at ESA

Geraint (Taff) Morgan and Simon Sheridan have spent the last couple of days with fellow scientists, engineers and instrument providers discussing the scientific and resource requirements with members of ESA's Science Directorate, in preparation for the independent Critical Design Facility (CDF) review in June.

If successful, CALICO will move through from the current Phase 0 to a Phase A Study, with the view for it to be further developed as a Class M mission, for launch in ~2037.

The CALICO mission, led by Prof Axel Hagermann (Luleå University of Technology, Sweden), proposes a lander for the analysis of a dwarf planet, CERES. The OU is leading on the JOCELYN instrument, building on our Ptolemy heritage, with a cohort of scientific support from around Europe.

In addition, to the twenty plus people meeting face-to-face at ESTEC, we were joined by a similar number remotely on TEAMS, including the JOCELYN Co-PI, Prof Karen Olsson-Francis, from AstrobiologyOU.