Paradox, A Mission to Reveal Iapetus’ Secrets

Paradox is a mission to the Saturnian moon Iapetus. The primary goal of this mission is to discover the source of Iapetus’ dual coloration, as well as to study its equatorial ridge. The mission will be composed of two parts: An orbiter and a lander. The orbiter will not circle Iapetus, as slowing the spacecraft into orbit around the moon would be a very difficult task and require a large amount of fuel. To eliminate these obstacles, the spacecraft will orbit Saturn instead, taking periodic measurements as it passes Saturn’s moons. The lander will be deployed to Iapetus during one of these occurrences and will take measurements and samples from the surface. All data will be relayed to the orbiter before being sent back to Earth. RPS plays a very important role in Paradox. Due to Iapetus’ great distance from the sun, solar energy will not be available in sufficient quantities to power all systems and science instruments. An RTG (Radioisotope thermoelectric generator) will be needed to power both the orbiter and the lander. The RTG will also help to keep the science instruments warm and operating, as the intensely cold temperatures far from the sun would quickly stop many systems from working. With a mission target so far away, my power, Resourcefulness, must be used. Even if a problem should occur during the mission, with Resourcefulness, I would be able to use what I had in order to solve the problem and achieve mission success.