Centaurus is a mission concept toflyby thecentaurs2060 Chiron andSchwassmann–Wachmann 1.[1] It was submitted in response to theNASADiscovery program call for proposals in 2019 but ultimately was not among the four missions selected for further development by NASA in February 2020.[2] If it had been selected,Centaurus would have been the first mission to attempt a flyby of a centaur.
If selected,Centaurus would have been capable of launching in any year between 2026 and 2029. The primary targets of theCentaurus mission were the centaurs2060 Chiron and29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann (often shortened to "SW1").Centaurs are "escapees" from theKuiper belt with giant planet-crossing orbits.[3] Both objects areactive centaurs withperihelia within the orbit ofSaturn. TheCentaurus payload included imagers and spectrometers to study the surfaces, comae, and any potentialrings andshepherd moons around these objects.[1] Use ofsolar panels would have eliminated the need forradioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) or other nuclear sources.[1]
Both mission targets show evidence for rings and/or cometary activity. Chiron is the second largest known centaur, by diameter, after10199 Chariklo. Activity was identified in the past, which appears to feed its rapidly-evolvingring system.[4][5][6] SW1 is the most active centaur known, averaging over 7 periods of activity each year.[7] This equates to an outburst of cometary activity approximately every 50 days. Thus, there was a high likelihood ofCentaurus flying by SW1 during a period of activity.
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