Interstellar dust as a unique and interdisciplinary science case for the Interstellar Probe

The Interstellar Probe is a mission concept to investigate (in situ) the heliosphere, its boundaries and its immediate surrounding interstellar space. It is a multi-purpose mission serving compelling science goals in heliosphere science, planetary science and astrophysics. One of the interdisciplinary science investigations on the Interstellar Probe concerns measurements of interstellar (and interplanetary) dust in and outside of the heliosphere. Such measurements will be unique and a major leap forward for interstellar dust research: no spacecraft ever has flown out of the heliosphere with a dedicated dust package before. This is important because the heliosphere filters out the smallest of these particles through their surface charge and coupling to magnetic fields and because the dynamics of submicron dust particles in the heliosphere are influenced by the solar cycle and the large-scale structure and dynamics of the different regions in the heliosphere. The boundary regions of the heliosphere are fairly unexplored. 

In this talk, we present the compelling and interdisciplinary science case of interstellar dust for a mission like the Interstellar Probe. We discuss interstellar dust simulation results and discuss what the mission can expect to measure, depending on different assumptions for the dust size distribution and composition. We use these simulations to illustrate how interstellar dust measurements and simulations can bring us new information about the global structure and dynamics of the heliosphere.