Astronomy · Unit 3: The Solar System ·  Problem 3.3.1

Where Do We Send It?

One target, one science question, one budget — and you have to defend the call  ·  3 in-class days

Pulls TogetherThe Whole Unit
Unit 3: The Solar System

A university lab is running a real student mission-design competition: teams submit a single target in the solar system, one science question, and a justification for why that target — and not another — is worth the trip.

The catalog of options is huge: rocky worlds with wildly different surface histories, gas giants with dozens of moons, icy worlds that might be hiding oceans, even the asteroids and comets left over from when it all formed.

Every target has a story, but your team has funding for one instrument suite and one destination. Whatever you pick has to earn its spot.

Your Investigation Questions
Q1What's actually still unknown or unexplained about this target?
Q2What's already been ruled out, so you're not just repeating an old mission?
Q3Why does answering this question require going there, instead of observing from Earth?

This is the assignment — with your own assigned science question and budget tier generated for you on the problem page. Everything in this unit was building toward being able to make, and defend, this exact call.

🧭 Plot Summary

No new content here — this problem is entirely about applying everything from this unit to a real, constrained decision. You'll be handed a specific science question and a specific budget tier, and it's on you to pick a target that actually fits both, explain what's still unknown about it, argue why a mission (not just a bigger telescope) is what the question needs, and defend that choice against at least one real alternative.

Resource Map — where each piece comes from

Stuck on a specific target's science? Jump straight to the deep dive that covers it.

3.1.1Rocky Worlds

Atmosphere, greenhouse effect, magnetic fields for terrestrial targets

3.1.2Reading Surface Features

Crater dating, volcanic history, reading a world's geologic past

3.1.3Habitability Report

The five-factor framework: atmosphere, radiation, geology, gravity, water

3.2.1Gas Giant Systems

Ring systems, standout moons, tidal heating, real mission history

3.2.2Asteroids and Comets

Why "leftover" objects are genuinely valuable science targets

3.2.3Scale Model Solar System

An honest sense of just how far apart everything actually is

✅ Self-Check Before You Roll On

Check off each item as you get there. These aren't grades — they're your own signal.