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Calathus is a proposed student-designed Ceres sample-return mission, that would consist of an orbiter and a lander with an ascent module. The orbiter would be equipped with a camera, a thermal imager, and a radar; the lander will have a sampling arm, a camera, and a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer. Mission objective is to return maximum 40 grams (1.4 oz) of Ceresian soil. The mission was designed and proposed in 2018 with support of ESA.

Spacecraft should take samples from Occator Crater, that was studied and photographed by NASA's Dawn. The objectives are:

• to understand whether Ceres contains the ingredients for life
• to understand where Ceres was formed
• to understand whether asteroids like Ceres were responsible for delivering water and organics to Earth

Further reading

• "The Calathus Mission" (PDF). Alpbach Summer School.
• "SAMPLE RETURN FROM A RELIC OCEAN WORLD: THE CALATHUS MISSION TO OCCATOR CRATER, CERES" (PDF). 51st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2020). 2021.

References

1. Gassot, Oriane (April 2021). "Calathus: A sample-return mission to Ceres" (PDF). Acta Astronautica. 181: 112–129. Bibcode:2021AcAau.181..112G. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2020.12.050. hdl:10141/622884. S2CID 234121413.
2. ^ "The Calathus Mission Concept to Occator Crater at Ceres: Science, Operations and Systems Design" (PDF). ESA.

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• Proposed space probes
• Ceres (dwarf planet)
• Missions to dwarf planets
• Missions to main-belt asteroids
• European spacecraft stubs