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We have measured the spectral reflectance of the Pluto-Charon pair at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 micrometers with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) (G. G. Fazzio et al. Ap.J.Supp. 154, 10-17, 2004) on the Spitzer Space Telescope (STS), at eight different longitudes that cover a full rotation of the planet. STS does not have sufficient resolution to separate the light from the planet and the satellite. The image of the Pluto-Charon pair is clearly visible at each of the four wavelengths. We will discuss the spectral reflectance in terms of models that include the known components of Pluto and Charon s surfaces, and evidence for diurnal variations.

Comet observations are included in the programs of the Guaranteed Time Observers (GTO) on the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), scheduled to be in space and operational for five years beginning in late 2003. SIRTF is a cryogenic telescope with three basic instruments for imaging, photometry and spectroscopy from 3.6 m to 160 m. All of these capabilities will be used in studies of comets. The intent is to study the infrared radiation (emission) from comets (and dust tails, where relevant) in all stages of evolution, starting with Kuiper Belt objects and Centaurs (thermal emission at 24,70, and 160 m to derive dimensions and albedos). Active comets will be observed spectroscopically and in deep thermal images. Several known or suspected extinct comets will be observed spectroscopically (5-37 m) for information on their surface compositions. There are opportunities for Guest Observers (GO) to propose additional comet work. .

Planetary science deals with a wide variety of natural materials in a wide variety of environments. These materials include metals, minerals, ices, gases, plasmas, and organic chemicals. In addition, the newly defined discipline of astrobiology introduces biological materials to planetary science. The environments range from the interiors of planets with megapascal pressures to planetary magnetospheres, encompassing planetary mantles, surfaces, atmospheres, and ionospheres. The interplanetary environment includes magnetic and electrical fields, plasma, and dust. In order to understand planetary processes over these vast ranges, the properties of materials must be known, and most of the necessary information comes from the laboratory. Observations of the bodies and materials in the Solar System are accomplished over the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum by remote sensing from Earth or spacecraft. Comets exemplify this; molecular and atomic identifications are made from the hard ultraviolet to radio wavelengths, while X-rays are emitted as comets interact with the solar wind. Gamma rays from the surfaces of the Moon and asteroids are diagnostic of the mineral and ice content of those bodies; eventually, gamma rays will also be observed by probes to comets. A number of planetary materials are available in the laboratory for extensive Study: rocks from the Moon, Mars, several asteroids, as well as dust from comets (and perhaps the Kuiper Belt) are closely studied at every level, including atomic (isotopic). Even pre-solar interstellar grains isolated from meteorites are scrutinized for composition and crystalline structure. Beyond the materials themselves, various agents and processes have altered them over the 4.6-Gy age of the Solar System. Solar radiation, solar wind particles, trapped magnetospheric particles, cosmic rays, and micrometeoroid impacts have produced chemical, physical, and morphological changes in the atmospheres and on the surfaces of all planetary bodies. These processes are not well understood, so studies in a laboratory setting are especially needed.

Colored regions on Jupiter's satellite Europa and other icy bodies in the outer Solar System may be contaminated by organic macromolecular solid material that is produced when surface ices are exposed to electrical energy. Hypervelocity meteorite impacts and fracture release tidal and tectonic stresses in icy crusts in the form of electrical discharges, which provide the energy for in situ synthesis of the organic solids. We report measurements of electrical discharge, light emission, and magnetic phenomena in hypervelocity impacts into ice with projectiles with V approx. 5 km/s. Part of the projectile's kinetic energy is converted into electrical potential, while the mechanical disruption of the impact also releases stress energy as light, heat, electrical, and magnetic fields as secondary emissions. These newly recognized energy sources suggest that the dark material in the area of impact craters are tholins generated from the energy of the impacts and that well up from the fracture zone. Large pools of liquid water would persist under the meteorite crater for thousands of years, with the potential for prebiotic chemistry to take place at an accelerated rate due to energy pumped in from the secondary emissions.

Centaurs are objects in unstable orbits that cross the orbits of the giant planets. They are presumed to be recent additions to the planetary zone of the Solar System, having been dynamically perturbed from the Kulper Disk by the gravitational action of Neptune. Telescopic observations of Centaurs are important because they give us a view of the composition (and in some cases cometary activity) of large bodies that are normally to far from the Sun to be studied in detail. This paper reports on physical observations, primarily through spectroscopy, of the compositions of a small number of Centaurs that have been studied to date. In particular, the composition of 5145 Pholus is reviewed, following the published work of Crulkshank et al., in which compositional models that fit the spectrum well included H2O ice, the organic solid Titan tholin, a light hydrocarbon ice (e.g., CH3OH), the silicate mineral olivine, and amorphous carbon. The Centaur 1997 CU(26) shows evidence for H2O ice, but nothing else is yet identified.

We present new spectra of the leading and trailing hemispheres of Iapetus from 2.4 to 3.8 micron. We have combined the leading hemisphere spectra with previous observations by others to construct a composite spectrum of the dark side (leading) hemisphere from 0.3 to 3.8 gm. We review attempts to deduce the composition of the dark material from previously available spectrophotometry. None of them (numbering more than 20 million!) leads to a synthetic spectrum that matches the new data. An intimate mixture of water ice, amorphous carbon and a nitrogen-rich organic compound (modeled here as Triton tholin) can fit the entire composite dark side spectrum. Observations in this spectral region have not revealed this mix of material on any other object observed thus far. We propose that this dark material may have originated on Titan, where atmospheric photochemistry has been producing nitrogen-rich organic compounds for 4.5 GY.

We present a composite spectrum of Trojan asteroid 624 Hektor, 0.3-3.6 microns, which shows that there is no discernible 3-micron absorption band. Such a band would indicate the presence of OH or H2O- bearing silicate minerals, or macromolecular carbon-rich organic material of the kind seen on the low-albedo hemisphere of Saturn's satellite Iapetus (Owen et al. 2000). The absence of spectral structure is itself indicative of the absence of the nitrogen-rich tholins (which show a distinctive absorption band attributed to N-H). The successful models in this study all incorporate the mineral pyroxene (Mg, Fe SiO3, the composition of hypersthene), which matches the red color of Hektor. Pyroxene is a mafic mineral common in terrestrial and lunar lavas, and is also seen in Main Belt asteroid spectra. An upper limit to the amount of crystalline H20 ice (30-micron grains) in the surface layer of Hektor is 3 weight percent. The upper limit for serpentine, as a representative of hydrous silicates, is much less stringent, at 40 percent, based on the shape of the spectral region around 3 gm. Thus, the spectrum at 3 gm does not preclude the presence of a few weight percent of volatile material in the surface layer of Hektor. All of the models we calculated require elemental carbon to achieve the low geometric albedo that matches Hektor. This carbon could be of organic or inorganic origin. By analogy, other D-type asteroids could achieve their red color, low albedo, and apparent absence of phyllosilicates, from compositions similar to the models presented here.

This paper presents the analysis of near-infrared observations of the icy surface of Triton, recorded on 1995 September 7, with the cooled grating spectrometer CGS4 at the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (Mauna Kea, HI). This analysis was performed in two steps. The step consisted of identifying the molecules composing Triton's surface by comparing the observations with laboratory transmission spectra (direct spectral analysis ); this also gives information on the physical state of the components.

In May 1995, a set of spectrophotometric curves of the system Pluto-Charon was recorded with the UKIRT telescope equipped with the spectrometer CGS4. As for the previous observations, the spectra cover a part of the near infrared range, between 1.4 and 2.55 micrometers, but with a higher resolution of approximately 700. In both the 1992 and 1995 data, the existence of solid methane is confirmed by numerous absorption bands, and the carbon monoxide and the nitrogen ices are identified by their respective signatures at 2.35 and 2.15 um. The solid nitrogen seems to be the principal icy component and forms a matrix in which the CH4 and CO molecules are diluted. However a spectroscopic analysis of the 1995 observations indicates that pure methane may coexist with its diluted phase in N2. In order to derive the horizontal and vertical distribution of these different species and to obtain some quantitative information about their characteristics, we have modeled the spectrum of May 15 that corresponds to the maximum of Pluto's visible light curve. This was achieved by means of a radiative transfer algorithm dealing with compact and stratified media. Among the various representations we have tested to describe the surface of Pluto, only a geographical mixture of three distinct units explains all the significant structures of the analyzed spectrum. The first unit is a thin granular layer of pure CH4 covering a compact polycrystalline substratum of N2-CH4-CO, which are in a molecular mixture (concentrations of and CO of the order of 0.45%, 0.1-0.2% respectively). It covers about 70% of the observed area and corresponds to volatile deposits that are sublimating under solar illumination. The second unit is either (a) a single thick layer of pure granular methane or (b) a unit similar to the first unit but with the two components inverted (i.e. with CH4 forming a substratum and the N2-CH4-CO mixture a superficial layer of fine grains). Covering 20% of the surface, it represents some old surfaces that have been sublimated for a long time, and eventually recovered later by very small amounts of fresh deposits of the molecular mixture N2-CH4-CO. Finally, the third unit may result from the condensation of very fine grains of nearly pure N2. It covers the remainder of the surface (about 10%). All these results allow a better understanding of the processes of deposition, metamorphism, sublimation and transport affecting the different ices detected on Pluto during its climatic cycles.

We report the spectroscopic detection of H2O ice on Triton, evidenced by the broad absorptions in the near infrared at 1.55 and 2.04 micron. The detection on Triton confirms earlier preliminary studies (D. P. Cruikshank, R. H. Brown, and R. N. Clark, Icarus 58, 293-305, 1984). The spectra support the contention that H2O ice on Triton is in a crystalline (cubic or hexagonal) phase. Our spectra (1.87-2.5 micron) taken over an interval of nearly 3.5 years do not show any significant changes that might relate to reports of changes in Triton's spectral reflectance (B. Buratti, M. D. Hicks, and R. L. Newburn, Jr., Nature 397, 219, 1999), or in Triton's volatile inventory (J. L. Elliot et al., Nature 393, 765-767, 1998).

Material of low albedo covers the surfaces, and in some cases constitutes the surfaces, of many planetary satellites. The low mean densities and water ice absorption bands detected in the spectra of some of these bodies show that they are fundamentally icy, but other bodies contain substantial fractions of rocky material. If we define three arbitrary albedo categories ranging from very low to very high, we find that there are many examples in each group.

SIRTF (Space Infrared Telescope Facility) is the final element in NASA's 'Great Observatories' program. It consists of an 85-cm cryogenically-cooled observatory for infrared astronomy from space. SIRTF is scheduled for launch in late 2001 or early 2002 on a Delta rocket into a heliocentric orbit trailing the Earth. Data from SIRTF will be processed and disseminated to the community through the SIRTF Science Center (SSC) located at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at Caltech. Some 80/% of the total observing time (estimated at a minimum of 7500 hours of integration time per year for the mission lifetime of about 4 years) will be available to the scientific community at large through a system of refereed proposals. Three basic instruments are located in the SIRTF focal plane. The Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS), the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), and the Infrared Spectrometer (IRS), taken together, provide imaging and spectroscopy from 3.5 to 160 microns. Among the solar system studies suited to SIRTF are the following: 1) spectroscopy and radiometry of small bodies from the asteroid main belt, through the Trojan clouds, to the Kuiper Disk; 2) dust distribution in the zodiacal cloud and the Earth's heliocentric dust ring; 3) spectroscopy and radiometry of comets; and 4) spectroscopy and radiometry of planets and their satellites. Searches for, and studies of dust disks around other stars, brown dwarfs, and superplanets will also be conducted with SIRTF. The SORTIE web site (http://ssc.ipac.caltech.edu/sirtf) contains important details and documentation on the project, the spacecraft, the telescope, instruments, and observing procedures. A community-wide workshop for solar system studies with SIRTF is in the planning stages by the author and Martha S. Hanner for the summer of 1999.

Recent near-infrared spectroscopy of Kuiper Belt objects and Centaurs indicates considerable spectral diversity among them. Some have entirely bland spectra with no discernible spectral features (e.g., Chiron), while 5145 Pholus has a very active spectrum with absorption bands of H2O, CH3OH, and probably the mineral olivine present. In addition, the strong red color of Pholus indicates the presence of organic solids. Among the KBOs, 1993 SC has an active spectrum with the probably presence of hydrocarbons and possibly the ices of H2O and N2. The diversity among these spectra and the implications that such diversity has for models of the formation of the formation of the planets will be discussed.

We present spectra of Comet Hale-Bopp (C/1995 01) covering the range 1.4-2.5 micron that were recorded when the comet was 7 AU from the Sun. These show I)road absorption features at 1.5 and 2.05 micron. We show that some, but not all, of this absorption could be matched by an intimate mixture of water ice and a low albedo material such as carbon on the nucleus. However, we recognize that it is more likely that the ice features are produced by scattering from icy grains in the coma. The absence of absorption at 1.65 micron suggests that this ice is probably in the amorphous state. An unidentified additional component may be required to account for the downward slope at the longwavelength end of the spectrum.

Much of the surface of Pluto consists of high-albedo regions covered to an unknown depth by Beta-N2, contaminated with CH4, CO, and other molecules. A portion of the exposed surface appears to consist of solid H2O. The remainder is covered by lower albedo material of unknown composition. The N2 ice may occur as polar caps of large extent, leaving ices and other solids of lower volatility in the equatorial regions. The low-albedo material found primarily in the equatorial regions may consist in part of solid hydrocarbons and nitriles produced from N2 and CH4 in the atmosphere or in the surface ices. Alternatively, it may arise from deposition from impacting bodies and/or the chemistry of the impact process itself. Charon's surface is probably more compositionally uniform than that of Pluto, and is covered by H2O ice with possible contaminants or exposures of other materials that are as yet unidentified. The molecular ices discovered on Pluto and Charon have been identified from near-infrared spectra obtained with Earth-based telescopes. The quantitative interpretation of those data has been achieved through the computation of synthetic spectra using the Hapke scattering theory and the optical constants of various ices observed in the laboratory. Despite limitations imposed by the availability of laboratory data on ices in various mixtures, certain specific results have been obtained. It appears that CH4 and CO are trace constituents, and that some fraction of the CH4 (and probably the CO) on Pluto is dissolved in the matrix of solid N2. Pure CH4 probably also occurs on Pluto's surface, allowing direct access to the atmosphere. Study of the nitrogen absorption band at 2.148 micrometers shows that the temperature of the N2 in the present epoch is 40 +/-2 K. The global temperature regime of Pluto can be modeled from observations of the thermal flux at far-infrared and millimeter wavelengths. The low-albedo equatorial regions must be significantly warmer than the polar regions covered by N2 (at T = 40 K) to account for the total thermal flux measured. At the present season, the diurnal skin depth of the insolation-driven thermal wave is small, and the observed mm-wave fluxes may arise from a greater depth. Alternatively, the mm-wave flux may arise from the cool, sublimation source region. The surface microstructure in the regions covered by N2 ice is likely governed by the sintering properties of this highly volatile material. The observed nitrogen infrared band strength requires that expanses of the surface be covered with cm-sized crystals of N2. Grains of H2O ice on Charon, in contrast, are probably of order 50 micrometers in size, and do not metamorphose into larger grains at a significant rate. Because of the similarities in size, density, atmosphere and surface composition between Pluto and Neptune's satellite Triton, the surface structures observed by Voyager on Triton serve as a plausible paradigm for what might be expected on Pluto. Such crater forms, tectonic structures, aeolian features, cryovolcanic structures, and sublimation-degraded topography as are eventually observed on Pluto and Charon by spacecraft will give information on their interior compositions and structures, as well as on the temperature and wind regimes over the planet's extreme seasonal cycle.

The photochemistry of 32 neutral and 21 ion species in Triton's atmosphere is considered. Parent species N2, CH4, and CO (with a mixing ratio of 3 x 10(exp -4) in our basic model) sublime from the ice with rates of 40, 208, and 0.3 g/sq cm/b.y., respectively. Chemistry below 50 km is driven mostly by photolysis of methane by the solar and interstellar medium Lyman-alpha photons, producing hydrocarbons C2H4, C2H6, and C2H2 which form haze particles with precipitation rates of 135, 28, and 1.3 g/sq cm/b.y., respectively. Some processes are discussed which increase the production of HCN (by an order of magnitude to a value of 29 g/sq cm/b.y.) and involve indirect photolysis of N2 by neutrals. Reanalysis of the measured methane profiles gives an eddy diffusion coefficient K = 4 x 10(exp 3) sq cm/s above the tropopause and a more accurate methane number density near the surface, (3.1 +/- 0.8) x 10(exp 11)/cc cm. Chemistry above 200 km is driven by the solar EUV radiation (lambda less than 1000 A)) and by precipitation of magnetospheric electrons with a total energy input of 10(exp 8) W (based on thermal balance calculations). The most abundant photochemical species are N, H2, H, O, and C. They escape with the total rates of 7.7 x 10(exp 24)/ s, 4.5 x 10(exp 25)/ s, 2.4 x 10(exp 25)/ s, 4.4 x 10(exp 22)/ s, and 1.1 x 10(exp 24)/ s, respectively. Atomic species are transported to a region of 50-200 km and drive the chemistry there. Iono- spheric chemistry explains the formation of an E region at 150-240 km with HCO(+) as a major ion, and of an F region above 240 km with a peak at 320 km and C(+) as a major ion. The ionosphere above 500 km consists of almost equal densities of C(+) and N(+) ions. The model profiles agree with the measured atomic nitrogen and electron density profiles. A number of other models with varying rate coefficients of some reactions, differing properties of the haze particles (chemically passive or active), etc., were developed. These models show that there are four basic unknown values which have strong impacts on the composition and structure of the atmosphere and ionosphere. These values and their plausible ranges are the CO mixing ratio f(sub co) = 10(exp -4)- 10(exp -3), the magnetospheric electron energy input (1 +/- 0.5) x 10(exp 8) W, the rate coefficient of charge-exchange reaction N2(+) + Ck = 10(exp -11)-10(exp -10)cc cm/s, and the ion escape velocity upselon(sub i) approx. 150 cm/s.

Neptune's satellite Triton, and the planet-satellite binary Pluto and Charon, are the most distant planetary bodies on which ices have been directly detected. Triton and Pluto have very similar dimensions and mean densities, suggesting a similar or common origin. Through earth-based spectroscopic observations in the near-infrared, solid N2, CH4, and CO have been found on both bodies, with the additional molecule C02 on Triton. N2 dominates both surfaces, although the coverage is not spatially uniform. On Triton, the CH4 and CO are mostly or entirely frozen in the N2 matrix, while CO2 may be spatially segregated. On Pluto, some CH4 and the CO are frozen in the N2 matrix, but there is evidence for additional CH4 in a pure state, perhaps lying as a lag deposit on a subsurface layer of N2. Despite their compositional and dimensional similarities, Pluto and Triton are quite different from one another in detail. Additional hydrocarbons and other volatile ices have been sought spectroscopically but not yet have been detected. The only molecule identified on Pluto's satellite Charon is solid H2O, but the spectroscopic data are of low precision and admit the presence of other ices such as CH4.

Three satellites of Jupiter, seven satellites of Saturn, and five satellites of Uranus show spectroscopic evidence of H2O ice on their surfaces, although other details of their surfaces are highly diverse. The icy surfaces contain contaminants of unknown composition in varying degrees of concentration, resulting in coloration and large differences in albedo. In addition to H2O, Europa has frozen SO2, and Ganymede has O2 in the surface; in both of these cases external causes are implicated in the deposition or formation of these trace components. Variations in ice exposure across the surfaces of the satellites are measured from the spectroscopic signatures. While H2O ice occurs on the surfaces of many satellites, the range of bulk densities of these bodies shows that its contribution to their overall compositions is highly variable from one object to another.

The structure and contents of the Solar System offer an initial model for other planetary systems in this and other galaxies. Our knowledge of the bodies in the Solar System and their physical conditions has grown enormously in the three decades of planetary exploration. Parallel to the uncovering of new facts has been a great expansion of our understanding of just how these conditions came to be. Telescopic studies and missions to all the planets (except Pluto) have shown spectacular and unexpected diversity among those planets, their satellites, the asteroids, and the comets. Highlights include the organic-rich crust of comets, volcanic activity on planetary satellites, randomly oriented magnetic fields of the major planets, the existence of a huge population of planetesimals just beyond Neptune, dramatic combinations of exogenic and endogenic forces shaping the solid bodies throughout the Solar System, and much more. Simultaneously, computational, laboratory, and conceptual advances have shown that the Solar System is not fully evolved either dynamically or chemically. The discovery of clearly identified interstellar (presolar) material in the meteorites and comets connects us directly with the matter in the molecular cloud from which the Solar System originated. At the same time, an increased understanding of the chemistry of comets and the impact history of the planets has demonstrated the dependence of the origin and evolution of life on Earth on powerful exogenic factors. This presentation summarizes some of the new knowledge of the Solar System and proposes specific character ist ics that may be observed in (or used as criteria for identification of) extrasolar planetary systems.

We obtained new high resolution reflectance spectra of Mars during the 1993 opposition from Mauna Kea Observatory using the UKIRT CGS4 spectrometer. Fifty spectra of 1600-2000 km surface regions and a number of standard star spectra were obtained in the 2.04 to 2.44 micron wavelength region on 4 February 1993 UT. Near-simultaneous observations of bright standard stars were used to perform terrestrial atmospheric corrections and an absolute flux calibration. Using the known magnitude of the stars and assuming blackbody continuum behavior, the flux from Mars could be derived. A radiative transfer model and the HITRAN spectral line data base were used to compute atmospheric transmission spectra for Mars and the Earth in order to simulate the contributions of these atmospheres to our observed data. Also, we examined the ATMOS solar spectrum in the near-IR to try to identify absorption features in the spectrum of the Sun that could be misinterpreted as Mars features. Eleven absorption features were detected in our Mars spectra. Our data provide no conclusive identification of the mineralogy responsible for the absorption features we detected. However, examination of terrestrial spectral libraries and previous high spectral resolution mineral studies indicates that the most likely origin of these features is either CO3(sup 2-), HCO3(-), or HSO4(-) anions in framework silicates or possibly (Fe, Mg)-OH bonds in sheet silicates.

Object 5145 Pholus (=1992 AD) is a planetesimal in an orbit that crosses those of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune (period 92.7 years). It is particularly notable because of its extreme red color, corroborated by several observing teams. A spectrum of Pholus obtained in 1992 shows a strong absorption band with a characteristic shape at 2.27 micrometers, plus a weaker band at 1.7 micrometers. A better spectrum of the 2.0-2.5 micrometer region in 1993 confirms the position and shape of the 2.27-micrometer band. The color and spectral bands are identified with the aliphatic-rich and high H/C organic solid called asphaltite, which in a terrestrial setting originates from thermal processing of products of biological activity. In Pholus, this material is attributed to formation from radiation processing of ices on grains in the interstellar medium. Laboratory spectra of asphaltite and related materials have been published by Moroz et al., while Cloutis showed similar bands in comparable materials and identified them as the overtone and combination bands of C-H stretching and bending modes in CH2 and CH3 groups. Asphaltites, kerites, and anthraxolites are solid non-graphite members of a sequence ranging from oil to graphite; diffuse reflectance spectra of suites of these intermediate materials show color characteristics similar to those of the low-albedo asteroids (C,P,D), although specific identifications have not been made because of the lack of distinct absorption bands in the spectra of most low-albedo solar system bodies. In the case of Pholus, however, the primary band is strong; its wavelength and its shape, plus the match of the extremely red color, leads us to the identification of aliphatic-rich, asphaltite-like organic solid. The C, P, and D-type asteroids vary in degree of "redness", but are all less red than Pholus. Pholus and the Ctype asteroids are the end members of a sequence that represents the radiation processing of hydrocarbons, with Pholus being the least processed. Solar irradiation processes and heating reduce the H/C and aliphatic content of hydrocarbons preserved from the interstellar medium, and in the end produce opaque solids of neutral reflectance, including the kerogens (similar to anthraxolites) found in profusion in the carbonaceous meteorites.

A wide-field, prime-focus photographic search of most of the dynamically permitted satellite space of Saturn and Uranus to limiting magnitude 22.5 revealed no new outer satellites. This search is approximately 2.5 mag deeper than previous surveys. For bodies of geometric albedo 0.04, the search would have revealed outer satellites of Saturn with diameter 20 km and greater, and outer satellites of Uranus with diameter 70 km and greater. This work was carried out with the Canada-France-Hawaii 3.6-m telescope on Mauna Kea.

Planetary volatile inventories are products of several factors: (1) condensation-accretion of pre-planetary material which determines the bulk volatile inventory; (2) energy history of a planet, including timing, causes, and mechanisms of degassing; (3) the volatile sinks, including temporary, long term, and permanent; and (4) external processes operating on the volatile inventory. Information regarding the current surface compositions provide insight into both internal and surface-atmosphere evolutionary history. Our discussion focuses upon the surface composition of outer solar system planets and satellites as determined by spacecraft and telescopic spectral observations. We provide a review and an update of the recent work by Cruikshank and Brown that includes more recent observations and interpretations. In the context of formation and evolution of solar system bodies, the interesting ices typically considered are simple molecules formed from elements having high cosmic abundances. These mainly include ices of H2O, NH3, SO2, H2S, CH4, CO, CO2, and N2. In the solid state, these ices have vibrational spectral features, analogous to their gaseous counterparts but rotational transitions are quenched, that lie in the near- and mid-infrared. The overtone and combination modes, occurring in the visible and near-IR region, are of particular importance as standard observational techniques used to identify these ices rely upon reflected solar energy. Table I summarizes the ices found on various bodies in the outer solar system. H2O is most abundant surface material in the inner and middle regions while more volatile species appear to dominate surfaces in the outermost edge of the outer solar system.

The orbital properties of near-earth object 2201 have been associated with meteor showers, and its modeled orbital evolution is chaotic - a property which might indicate a history related to comets. Telescopic observations of its visible and near-infrared spectral reflectance, broad-band visible and near-infrared photometry, infrared radiometric measurements, and radar echoes are reported here from two apparitions, 1979 and 1983. This asteroid has a high radiometric albedo, a property not associated with comet nuclei. In certain wavelength regimes it is classified as an S-type asteroid, in others, an E-type, but its overall spectral reflectance is not typical of either taxonomic type, and neither type is thought of as cometlike. Unexpectedly high ultraviolet reflectance at the 1979 apparition was suggested to be the result of residual outgassing as in a comet. The UV photometric data are modeled as fluorescent emission from neutral species found in comets. The resulting calculations indicate a plausible value for OH and CN emission at 0.3085 and 0.38 micron relative to the observed range of active comets.

Telescopic observations in in situ spacecraft investigations over the last two decades have shown that many planetary satellites, asteroids, and comets have surfaces containing very dark material that is either neutral (black) or red in color. Although comets are not the focus of this paper, the possible relationship of comets to asteroids, meteorites, and interplanetary dust is briefly discussed in the context of their dark-matter component. The following topics are discussed with respect to their organic content: carbonaceous chondrites; asteroids; low-albedo planetary satellites; and Pluto, Charon, and Triton. Laboratory studies and a summary are also presented.

Recent telescopic observations have led to the identification of cyanogroup-containing molecules in the dark surface solids of several D-class asteroids, cometary dusts, and the rings of Uranus, as well as the low-albedo atmosphere of Iapetus. The occurrence of the 2.2-micron overtone of C triple-bond N's stretching fundamental mode in all four classes of small solar system bodies is presently suggested to serve as a diagnostic of both exposure duration and degree of modification of surface materials.

We found observational evidence for the presence of C(triple bond)N-bearing solid materials on four classes of Solar System bodies: comets, asteroids, the rings of Uranus, and Saturn's satellite Iapetus. Gaseous CN was known in comet spectra, and the IR spectra of Comet P/Halley show emission of the CN fundamental at 4.5 microns interpreted as solids containing CN- group in the grains of the inner coma. The presented data offer the first evidence for chemically related material on the other objects.

Telescopic data on asteroids, comets, planets, and planetary satellites are acquired and analyzed in the study of volatile ices and gases that occur on their surfaces and in their atmospheres. Infrared spectral studies of certain classes of asteroids for an analysis of their mineralogical and organic constituents are included.

Observations of 951 Gaspra in support of the Galileo spacecraft encounter are reported. Photometric observations of the asteroid yield a synodic rotational period of 7.042 46 and a slope parameter G of 0.285 + or - 0.005. It is inferred from data obtained on May 18, 1990, that the subearth latitude was higher at that time than it was earlier in the opposition. This places a limit on the possible pole orientation of the asteroid. A slope parameter of 0.25 is proposed on the basis of a comparison of the present result for the slope parameter with that of Barucci et al. (1990). A low-quality 0.8-2.5-micron spectrum of 951 Gaspra suggests a high olivine/pyroxene ratio, which is indicative of a source region in the lower mantle of a differentiated asteroid, and similarities to 8 Flora and particularly 15 Eunomia.

The authors profile the field of astronomy, identify some of the key scientific questions that can be addressed during the decade of the 1990's, and recommend several facilities that are critically important for answering these questions. Scientific opportunities for the 1990' are discussed. Areas discussed include protoplanetary disks, an inventory of the solar system, primitive material in the solar system, the dynamics of planetary atmospheres, planetary rings and ring dynamics, the composition and structure of the atmospheres of giant planets, the volcanoes of IO, and the mineralogy of the Martian surface. Critical technology developments, proposed projects and facilities, and recommendations for research and facilities are discussed.