NAUTICAL: a mission to Neptune

As much as we have explored, there is so much more we haven't, such as the outer planets, including Neptune. Only one spacecraft has visited Neptune, Voyager 2, and many questions surround it (including why its magnetic field is tilted and whether there is a subsurface ocean on Triton, among many others.). It would be revolutionary for our understanding of Neptune if we had a spacecraft orbiting the planet. My concept for a mission to Neptune is called NAUTICAL. (Neptune, Atmospheric, Ultraviolet, and Triton, Investigation, of Clouds, Aurora, and Lightning). The spacecraft would study how the Neptune system changes throughout the mission by observing Neptune's cloud structure and magnetic field along with the plumes of Triton. It would consist of an orbiter and multiple scientific instruments, including a UV Spectrometer, magnetometer, scientific cameras, and a probe that would release into the atmosphere and gather atmospheric, thermal, and pressure data as it descends. The spacecraft would use a Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) for power. Radioisotope power systems are necessary for a mission like NAUTICAL because of Neptune's extreme distance from the Sun. My curiosity, passion for everything about space, from astronomy to the engineering of rockets, and love of learning could one day help me become a part of a mission like this. In conclusion, a mission like this would change how scientists look at the Neptune system and would be one on a long list of great NASA science missions to use Radioisotope power systems.