Water is ubiquitous in the Solar System, being present in gaseous form in all planetary and cometary atmospheres, as ice on the surface and subsurface of Mars, comets, most planetary satellites and distant bodies, and in the liquid phase on Earth. Water plays an important or dominant role in the chemistry of planetary and cometary atmospheres. Comets are sources of water for planets through episodic collisions and continuous production of ice-dust grains. This proposal addresses the broad topic of water and its isotopologues in planetary and cometary atmospheres. The nature of cometary activity and the thermodynamics of cometary comae will be investigated by studying water excitation in a sample of comets. The D/H ratio, the key for constraining the origin and evolution of Solar System species, will be measured for the first time in a Jupiter- family comet. A comparison with existing and new measurements of D/H in Oort-cloud comets will constrain the composition of pre-solar cometary grains and possibly the dynamics of the protosolar nebula. New measurements of D/H in Giant Planets, similarly constraining the composition of proto-planetary ices, will be obtained. The D/H and other isotopic ratios, diagnostic of Mars. atmosphere evolution, will be accurately measured in H2O and CO. The role of water vapor in Mars. atmospheric chemistry will be studied by monitoring vertical profiles of H2O and HDO and by searching for several other species. A detailed study of the source of water in the upper atmosphere of the Giant Planets and Titan will be performed. By monitoring the water abundance, vertical profile, and input fluxes in the various objects, and when possible with the help of mapping observations, we will discriminate between the possible sources of water in the outer planets (interplanetary dust particles, cometary impacts, and local sou...rces). In addition to these inter-connected objectives, serendipitous searches will enhance our knowledge of the composition of planetary and cometary atmospheres.
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth 'cornerstone' mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
