The 2023 Decadal Survey [Origins, Worlds, and Life, p. 568] recommended that “NASA should develop scientific exploration strategies, as it has for Mars, in areas of broad scientific importance, for example, Venus and ocean worlds that have an increasing number of U.S. missions and international collaboration opportunities.” In response, NASA indicated that “specific scientific exploration strategies should be community-generated by bodies such as the Analysis Groups, advisory committees, and NASEM’s standing boards and commissioned studies” [From NASA’s 90-Day Response to the 2023-2033 Decadal Survey (p. 20)].
The Ocean Worlds Working Group was therefore chartered by the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG), and Network for Ocean Worlds (NOW) to “create an actionable Ocean Worlds exploration strategy” and as a vehicle to communicate the goals and needs of the Ocean Worlds (OW) community to NASA. This Cross-AG OWWG reflects the intellectual diversity that bridges planetary science and astrobiology and covers the rich diversity of targets that provide unique opportunities for mission and technology development.
Purpose
The objective of the OWWG is to formulate an actionable long-term strategy for the exploration of ocean worlds. Development of such a strategy first requires defining a unified set of science goals that will drive exploration over multi-decadal timescales. Additionally, it is critical for the OW community to assess the current state of technology required for ocean worlds exploration, identify the most immediate needs for technology development, and plan for technological innovation for decades to come. To that end, the OWWG has created two subgroups: a Science Goals subgroup and a Technology Roadmap subgroup. The former subgroup is tasked with developing both immediate and long-term science goals for ocean worlds exploration. The latter is developing an ocean worlds technology roadmap. Over the next 18 months, both subgroups will produce input (including but not limited to) reports, white papers, and publications that will feed into a broader Ocean Worlds Strategy Document.
Documents
The OWWG has formulated a set of science questions, goals, and investigations that should drive exploration. These questions include the following.
- What are the conditions that lead to the formation of ocean worlds?
- Where do water oceans exist in the interiors of outer solar system bodies?
- Do ocean worlds have past or present environments conducive to life?
- Is there evidence for present or past life in plume material, on the surface, or in the interior of ocean worlds?
While each of these questions is important for a complete understanding of ocean worlds, we argue that addressing the latter two (habitability and life) has the potential to reshape our understanding of life in the Universe. Given current limited resources to support a program of Ocean Worlds exploration we argue that these two question should be prioritized. Our rationale was briefly articulated in a white paper submitted to the NASA DARES call. That white paper and a complete listing of the OWWG science questions, goals, and investigations are linked below.
The OWWG has regularly reported our activities to NASA Assessment groups, including the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG), the Small Bodies Assessment Group (SBAG), and the Exo-Planet Assessment Group (ExoPAG). These presentations are provided below.
- OWWG_OPAG_Update_June2025.pdf
- OWWG_OPAG_Update_Nov2024.pdf
- OWWG_OPAG_Update_Nov2023.pdf
- OWWG_OPAG_Update_May2023.pdf
- OWWG_SBAG_July2024.pdf
- OWWG_SBAG_Jan2024.pdf
- OWWG_SBAG_July2023.pdf
- OWWG_ExoPAG_May2024.pdf
The OWWG also coordinates with NASA’s Astrobiology Research Coordination Networks (RCN’s), especially with the Network for Ocean Worlds (NOW), and their early career subgroup “Future Leaders for Ocean Worlds” (FLOW). OWWG presentations to NOW and FLOW are provided below.
The OWWG kicked off with a townhall-style working meeting in June of 2023. This was followed by a townhall at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in 2024. Links to these presentations are provided below.
The OWWG presentation at NASA’s 2024 PESTO technology forum is provided below.
Contact info
If you have questions or comments about the OWWG, please contact the OWWG Co-Chairs
- Cynthia Phillips (cynthia.b.phillips@jpl.nasa.gov)
- Michael Bland (mbland@usgs.gov)
If you would like to be included in future OWWG activities, please join our mailing list by sending an email to owwg+subscribe@psi.edu
Image credit: Based on this montage from Emily Lakdawalla / Planetary Society