Ice Giant Systems: The Scientific Potential of Missions to the Uranus and Neptune Systems (ESA Voyage 2050 White Paper).

Uranusand Neptune, and their diverse satellite and ring systems, represent the least explored environments of our Solar System, and yet may provide the archetypefor the most common outcome of planetary formation throughout our galaxy. Ice Giantsare the last remaining class of planet in our system to have a dedicated orbital mission. This white paperdescribes how such a mission could explore their origins, ice-rich interiors, dynamic atmospheres, unique magnetospheres, and myriad icy satellites, to address questions at the very heart of modern planetary science. These two worlds are superb examples of how planets with shared origins can exhibit remarkably different evolutionary paths: Neptuneas the archetypefor Ice Giants, Uranusas the oddball. Exploring Uranus' natural satellitesand Neptune's captured moon Triton could reveal how Ocean Worlds form and remain active, redefining the extent of the habitable zone in our Solar System. For these reasons and more, we propose that an Ice GiantSystem mission should become a strategic cornerstone spacecraft for ESA in the Voyage 2050 programme.