Enceladus plume and icy body exospheric particle sampling using rotating tether and alternative architectures

A synopsis of missions to icy bodies, in particular ones involving the resampling of the plumes of Enceladus, is offered. Following the speculation of others, it is assumed that any microbes possibly existing in the putative water mantle of Enceladus could be swept-up by the plume. After consideration of instrument capabilities, it is concluded that no planned or proposed hypervelocity plume fly-through missions is likely to result in a definitive confirmation of such possible life. Instead, it is suggested that plume particle collection with relative encounters at ∼200 ms^-1 with more relevant detection instruments, is far more likely to result in definitive confirmation. An illustrative model of the Enceladus plume is also presented to justify the need for collection of larger ice particles at altitudes of ∼3 km. To provide the recommended encounters at low velocity and altitude the potential use of tethered collection systems is briefly introduced. It is concluded that an Enceladus orbiter should be prioritized.