John Brody Michael T. Bland Debra Buczkowski Robert Grimm A. Hendrix Kelly Miller Thomas Prettyman Lynnae Quick Carol Raymond Jennifer Scully Michael M. Sori Yasuhito Sekine David Williams Michael Zolensky Timothy N. Titus J. C. Castillo-Rogez 2020 <p>Dwarf planet Ceres is a compelling target as an evolved ocean world with, at least, regional brine reservoirs and potentially ongoing geological activity. As the most water-rich body in the inner solar system (in relative abundance), it is a representative of the population of planetesimals that brought volatiles and organics to the inner solar system. Situated in the Main Belt of asteroids, Ceres is accessible enough for a sample return with the resources of a typical medium-class (New Frontiers) NASA mission. Under the Discovery program, Dawn explored Ceres from 2015 to 2018. The extensive dataset revealed the presence of liquid, brine-driven activity, organic matter, and a rich salt chemistry. With this evidence, the overarching goals of the mission concept presented herein are to quantify Ceres’ current habitability potential and origin.</p> application/pdf en NASA Planetary science decadal survey planetary mission concept study report: Ceres: Exploration of Ceres’ habitability reports