Persephone is a NASA concept mission study that addresses key questions raised by New Horizons’ encounters with Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), with arguably the most important being, “Does Pluto have a subsurface ocean?” More broadly, Persephone would answer four significant science questions: (1) What are the internal structures of Pluto and Charon? (2) How have the surfaces and atmospheres in the Pluto system evolved? (3) How has the KBO population evolved? (4) What are the particles and magnetic field environments of the Kuiper Belt? To answer these questions, Persephone has a comprehensive payload, and it would both orbit within the Pluto system and encounter other KBOs. The nominal mission is 30.7 yr long, with launch in 2031 on a Space Launch System Block 2 rocket with a Centaur kick stage, followed by a 27.6 yr cruise powered by existing radioisotope electric propulsion and a Jupiter gravity assist to reach Pluto in 2058. En route to Pluto, Persephone would have one 50–100 km class KBO encounter before starting a 3.1-Earth-year orbital campaign of the Pluto system. The mission also includes the potential for an 8 yr extended mission, which would enable the exploration of another KBO in the 100–150 km size class. The mission payload includes 11 instruments: Panchromatic and Color High-Resolution Imager, Low-Light Camera, Ultra-Violet Spectrometer, Near-Infrared (IR) Spectrometer, Thermal IR Camera, Radio Frequency Spectrometer, Mass Spectrometer, Altimeter, Sounding Radar, Magnetometer, and Plasma Spectrometer. The nominal cost of this mission is $3.0 billion, making it a large strategic science mission.

Persephone 是 NASA 的一项概念任务研究，旨在解决新视野号与柯伊伯带天体 (KBO) 相遇所引发的关键问题，其中最重要的问题可以说是“冥王星是否有地下海洋？” 更广泛地说，珀尔塞福涅将回答四个重要的科学问题：（1）冥王星和卡戎的内部结构是什么？(2) 冥王星系统的表面和大气是如何演化的？(3) KBO 种群是如何演化的？(4) 柯伊伯带的粒子和磁场环境是什么？为了回答这些问题，珀耳塞福涅有一个全面的有效载荷，它既会在冥王星系统内运行，又会遇到其他 KBO。名义任务时间为 30.7 年，将于 2031 年在具有半人马座踢阶段的太空发射系统 Block 2 火箭上发射，然后是 27。由现有放射性同位素电力推进和木星重力辅助驱动的 6 年巡航于 2058 年到达冥王星。 在前往冥王星的途中，珀耳塞福涅将遇到一次 50-100 公里的 KBO 级，然后开始冥王星系统的 3.1 地球年轨道运动. 该任务还包括进行 8 年延长任务的潜力，这将使探索另一个 100-150 公里大小级别的 KBO 成为可能。任务有效载荷包括11台仪器：全色和彩色高分辨率成像仪、微光相机、紫外光谱仪、近红外（IR）光谱仪、热红外相机、射频光谱仪、质谱仪、高度计、探空雷达、磁力计和等离子光谱仪。该任务的名义成本为 30 亿美元，使其成为一项大型战略科学任务。